Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov wants to do away with the title of president in Chechnya, saying that “in a single state there should be only one president, and in [federal] subjects the top figures can call themselves the head of the republic, head of the administration, or governor.” Oddly, Moscow appears not to be behind this. Stranger still, other Russian republics in the North Caucasus want to do the same thing. Tom Balmforth explores the possible reasons behind this trend in Russia Profile today:

Some analysts say Kadyrov’s move isn’t the result of puppeteering by the Kremlin, which has consistently sought to tighten up its “power vertical” political model. If Moscow was using Kadyrov to foment the Russia-wide standardization of its numerous regional titles, then this move would have been buttressed by new legislative drafts issued in the Russian capital, said Nikolai Petrov, an expert on regional politics for the Carnegie Moscow Center. “It would have been logical for the Kremlin to come up with a draft which makes titles used in regions uniform – not only with regard to the naming of leaders, but also with naming regional assemblies. To my mind the move looks more like Kadyrov’s own initiative, and a desire to show his loyalty to the Kremlin through pretty cheap means,” said Petrov.