Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov Signals Possible Exit Amid Succession Talk

The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, requested to be relieved of his duties, news agency Chechnya Today reports.

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org by Press Service of the President of the Russian Federation

Ramzan Kadyrov

Kadyrov was responding to rumors suggesting he may step down from his post. He also spoke about the topic of a possible successor.

"I myself am asking to be relieved of my position. Someone else will have their own initiatives, their own vision. I hope my request will be supported," Kadyrov said. He did not specify to whom the request to resign was addressed.

Previously, Kadyrov commented on rumors about his health, saying that various illnesses are constantly being fabricated about him online.

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Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov (born 5 October 1976) is a Russian politician and current Head of the Chechen Republic. He was formerly affiliated with the Chechen independence movement, through his father who was the separatist-appointed mufti of Chechnya. He is a colonel general in the Russian military. Kadyrov is the son of former Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov, who switched sides in the Second Chechen War by offering his service to Vladimir Putin's administration in Russia and became Chechen president in 2003. Akhmad Kadyrov was assassinated in May 2004. In February 2007, Ramzan Kadyrov replaced Alu Alkhanov as president, shortly after he had turned 30, which is the minimum age for the post. He was engaged in violent power struggles with Chechen commanders Sulim Yamadayev (d. 2009) and Said-Magomed Kakiyev for overall military authority, and with Alkhanov for political authority. Since November 2015, he has been a member of the Advisory Commission of the State Council of the Russian Federation.