Kadyrov reportedly plans to ‘transfer power’ to his 17-year-old son Adam

According to the Telegram channel VChK-OGPU, the ongoing tensions between the Kremlin and Chechen Head Ramzan Kadryov stem from Kadyrov’s plan to transfer power to his 17-year-old son Adam.

This tension had previously been reported on by the Russian independent media outlet iStories (Vazhnye istorii), citing its own sources. According to the media outlet’s information, Kadyrov has been developing a plan that would allow him to evacuate his family and assets to a Middle Eastern country in the event of a ‘bad scenario’.

One source related to the Federal Security Service (FSB), who claimed to have personally seen Kadyrov last week, told the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel that Kadyrov’s health is a cause of serious concern. The source asserted that Kadyrov ‘will soon be unable to carry out even part of his official duties’.

The information published by this channel is usually confirmed — its sources are either law enforcement officers or high-ranking officials.

Journalists and human rights defenders have often mentioned Kadyrov’s health problems. In particular, in April 2024, the Russian independent media outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe reported that in 2019, Kadyrov was diagnosed with pancreatic necrosis — a severe and often fatal condition. Novaya Gazeta Europe wrote that his health worsened after contracting COVID-19 in 2020, which led to additional issues with his endocrine system.

However, Kadyrov has repeatedly denied rumours about his ill health. In August 2024, he claimed that he was ‘perfectly healthy’, adding that doctors described his body as ‘that of a young man’. To support his claim, Kadyrov published a video from a gym to ostensibly demonstrate his physical activity.

At the same time,  VChK-OGPU claimed that in an informal conversation with President Vladimir Putin — allegedly held during their last official meeting in August 2024 — Kadyrov expressed a desire for his son to become the next head of the republic. After receiving a negative response from the Kremlin, sources say Kadyrov began confidential negotiations with Qatari officials. A month before the meeting with Putin, Kadyrov hosted the ambassador of Qatar and  according to the VChK-OGPU, two of Kadyrov’s closest associates are in Qatar.

Sources also link these events to a recent unofficial ban on ‘active operations’ by Chechen security forces, as well as on and business figures operating informally, and sometimes semi-legally, in other regions of Russia.

In addition, according to one source, State Duma MP Adam Delimkhanov — considered one of Kadyrov’s closest allies — was warned that if his name again appears in high-profile conflicts in Moscow, his past actions may be held against him. IStories has also reported on this update.

These claims have not yet been commented on by official representatives.

Over the past month, Adam Kadyrov has become the curator of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Chechen Republic, and has received the Russian National Guard’s departmental medal For Combat Merit, which is awarded only to participants in military actions, the OMON Akhmat-Grozny badge, and a certificate confirming his membership in the Arab Arbitration Court.

Adam Kadyrov came under public scrutiny in 2023 after he beat up Nikita Zhuravel, who was accused of burning the Quran, in a detention centre in Grozny. This incident triggered a series of awards: he received the title Hero of Chechnya, medals and orders for services to Tatarstan, Karachay–Cherkessia, and Kabarda–Balkaria, as well as religious orders For Services to the Ummah and For Service to the Religion of Islam (1st Class), along with a number of other honours — some of which, according to the law, he was not eligible to receive due to his age.

Since the age of 15, Adam Kadyrov has led his father’s security service, and in 2023, he was appointed as the ‘curator’ of a battalion formed in Chechnya under the Russian Ministry of Defence, named after Baysangur Benoevsky. He also ‘oversees’ the Sheikh Mansur Battalion and the ‘Russian University of Special Forces’ in Gudermes, where so-called volunteers are trained to fight in the war against Ukraine.

Kadyrov’s 17-year-old son appointed ‘supervisor’ of Chechnya’s Interior Ministry

The decision to appoint Adam Kadyrov to his new position was made by order of his father.

OC MediaElizaveta Chukharova