The scandalis potentially embarrassing for President Vladimir Putin since the
Kremlin has chosen Mr Kadyrov as its point man in the strife-torn republic. Mr
Kadyrov's aides have laughed off the grainy video of a man identical in
appearance and voice to him in a sauna with two prostitutes, as a
"provocation".
True or not, the footage is damaging for the 29-year-old Prime Minister, since
he is married with children and has made a name for himself by criticising the
media for broadcasting "immoral programmes" and by urging Chechen women to wear
headscarves. In recent months he has outlawed gambling, clamped down on alcohol
sales and partially introduced Shariah law. He was also recently reported to
have issued an order for women's mobile phones to be monitored to ensure that
wives are not in contact with ex-boyfriends.
The sauna footage was shot on a mobile phone and first appeared on a Chechen
rebel website. The rebels regard Mr Kadyrov as a "phoney Muslim" who is trying
to hijack Islam to quell separatist sentiment.
Anna Politkovskaya, a Russian reporter who specialises in Chechnya, has added
credibility to the clip's authenticity by claiming that she too has been sent
footage of a man identical in appearance to Ramzan.
Her claims go beyond debauched infidelity. She told a website: "On them [the
clips] were the murders of federal servicemen by Kadyrovtsy [his private army],
and also kidnappings directed by Kadyrov ... On the basis of them, a criminal
case and investigation should follow."
But Mr Kadyrov has become too powerful for the Kremlin to remove easily and is
expected in time to become the republic's President, a job his father did
before he was assassinated. Yesterday he was back on state television -
ironically he was talking about a beauty contest he is organising for Chechen
girls.
His public image as a devout Muslim warrior who frets about the morals of
Chechnya's peoplehas been carefully constructed by spin doctors. But Ramzan
Kadyrov, Chechnya's pro-Moscow Prime Minister, has become ensnared in an
embarrassing sex scandal that has made his loud moral preaching appear rather
hollow.
The scandal is potentially embarrassing for President Vladimir Putin since the
Kremlin has chosen Mr Kadyrov as its point man in the strife-torn republic. Mr
Kadyrov's aides have laughed off the grainy video of a man identical in
appearance and voice to him in a sauna with two prostitutes, as a
"provocation".
True or not, the footage is damaging for the 29-year-old Prime Minister, since
he is married with children and has made a name for himself by criticising the
media for broadcasting "immoral programmes" and by urging Chechen women to wear
headscarves. In recent months he has outlawed gambling, clamped down on alcohol
sales and partially introduced Shariah law. He was also recently reported to
have issued an order for women's mobile phones to be monitored to ensure that
wives are not in contact with ex-boyfriends. The sauna footage was shot on a
mobile phone and first appeared on a Chechen rebel website. The rebels regard
Mr Kadyrov as a "phoney Muslim" who is trying to hijack Islam to quell
separatist sentiment.
Anna Politkovskaya, a Russian reporter who specialises in Chechnya, has added
credibility to the clip's authenticity by claiming that she too has been sent
footage of a man identical in appearance to Ramzan.
Her claims go beyond debauched infidelity. She told a website: "On them [the
clips] were the murders of federal servicemen by Kadyrovtsy [his private army],
and also kidnappings directed by Kadyrov ... On the basis of them, a criminal
case and investigation should follow."
But Mr Kadyrov has become too powerful for the Kremlin to remove easily and is
expected in time to become the republic's President, a job his father did
before he was assassinated. Yesterday he was back on state television -
ironically he was talking about a beauty contest he is organising for Chechen
girls.
