Kadyrov to pay $5,000 to parents of 180 boys born on New Year’s Eve, named after Chechen heroes

Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov has promised to pay the parents of 180 boys born on New Year’s Eve ₽500,000 ($4,868), with the condition that the children bear the names of Chechen heroes of the 19th century Caucasian War.

On 18 December, Kadyrov promised that he would pay parents who named their children after Chechen historical figures, particularly Sheikh Mansur and Baysangur Benoevsky, ₽500,000 ($4,868) each. He did not promise any financial awards to the parents of girls born on that day.

On Monday, Kadyrov published birth statistics showing that of 222 children born in Chechnya on New Year’s Eve, 180 were boys, and all were ‘named after national heroes of the republic’. Only 42 girls were born that day.

According to official statistics, an average of 44 boys were born in Chechnya every day for the last 10 months.

According to Kadyrov, 79 boys born on New Year’s Eve were named Baysangur, making it the most popular name that day, followed by Sheikh Mansur at 53; Akhmat or Akhmad at 23; and Zelimkhan at 10.

After Kadyrov announced that he would give prizes to families who name their children after Chechen national heroes, he deleted the list of names included in his original post — presumably for the role the figures played in North Caucasian resistance to Russia’s conquest. However, the names made a reappearance in his latest Telegram post, announcing that 180 boys were born on New Year’s Eve.

Sheikh Mansur was a prominent Chechen commander who operated in both Chechnya and Circassia during the Caucasian War. He was captured by Russia and sentenced to life in prison for ‘stirring up the peoples of the mountains against Russia and causing great damage to the empire’.

Baisangur Benoevsky, another prominent Chechen resistance leader during the war, was arrested in 1861 and hanged for refusing to recognise Russia’s authority over Chechnya.

Zelimkhan Gushmazukaev, an abrek, or a lone guerilla warrior, who operated in the early 20th century, was known for his robberies, extortions, and the murders of imperial officials and officers. He was killed as a result of a blood feud unrelated to his rebel activities.

The total amount that Kadyrov has allocated for the prizes totalled out to ₽90 million ($880,000), with the money being sourced from the Akhmat–Khadzi Kadyrov Foundation.

All state employees in Chechnya, including teachers, doctors, and housing and utilities workers, transfer money to the foundation, ostensibly in a voluntary capacity, but it is widely reported that the transfers are compulsory.

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OC MediaElizaveta Chukharova