Chechen poet and editor-in-chief of the Daimokh (‘Motherland’) newspaper Buvaisar Shamsudinov has published a verse novel dedicated to the life of Akhmat Kadyrov, the first Chechen President and father of current Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov.
The work focuses on Akhmat Kadyrov’s biography, who was the mufti of the unrecognised Chechen Republic of Ichkeria during the First Chechen War, and who, in the early 2000s, switched to the side of the federal authorities and later headed the republic within the Russian Federation. Kadyrov was killed on 9 May 2004 in a bombing at the Dynamo stadium in Grozny. After his death, political power in the republic gradually concentrated in the hands of his son, Ramzan Kadyrov.
Details of the plot and length of the novel have not been disclosed in published reports.
‘The novel, written in verse, sets out the spiritual values and ideas that have stirred the Chechen people’, Shamsudinov said during a presentation of the novel in Grozny on Tuesday. ‘I wanted to show how [Akhmat Kadyrov] strove to put an end to internal conflicts, to restore a sense of unity among the people, and to instil the understanding that only together can we overcome any difficulties’.
The book’s presentation took place as part of events marking the 75th anniversary of Akhmat Kadyrov’s birth. Over recent months, Chechnya has hosted a series of commemorative events, including literary meetings, academic conferences, festivals, and concerts.
The figure of Akhmat Kadyrov has already been widely depicted in Chechen literature. In May, the Chechen State Pedagogical University also hosted a discussion of a dramatic work by the same author, Shamsudinov, titled Veras, whose main character is based on Kadyrov.
In 2022, a book presentation took place in Moscow titled Akhmat-Khadzhi Kadyrov and the revival of statehood in Chechnya at the beginning of the 21st century. Its author was MP and associate of the current Chechen leader Adam Delimkhanov.
In 2021, a book about Akhmat Kadyrov, A Path Illuminated by Light, was included in the school curriculum in Chechnya as a mandatory text for senior classes. Its author was police major Amrudi Edilov.
The image of Akhmat Kadyrov occupies a central place in Chechnya’s official historical narrative. More than 300 streets in the republic are named after the former president, along with Grozny’s main square, parks, Chechen State University, schools, gymnasiums, kindergartens, the ‘Heart of Chechnya’ mosque, and a Russian National Guard (Rosgvardiya) regiment.
The village of Tsentaroi was renamed Akhmat-Yurt in his honour in 2019. In addition, football and MMA clubs operate in his name, as well as the Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation, which has been under US Treasury sanctions since December 2020.
Chechnya regularly holds competitions dedicated to Akhmat Kadyrov, including annual contests for young artists titled ‘The Revival of the Chechen Republic Through the Eyes of Children’ and writing competitions called ‘Children’s Pen’.
