Traditional Chechen Methods

From Der Spiegel:

In response to the outrage the Estemirova murder triggered abroad, Kadyrov, seemingly with utter conviction, announced that the “terrible crime” would be swiftly investigated and said he would personally see to it that that happened. And then he added: “As determined by the centuries-old traditions and the mentality of the Chechen people, we will also search for the criminals using other, traditional methods — methods that sometimes prove to be very effective.”

Traditional methods? The words sound like they came from a mafia boss, not a president. (…)

The Russians are keeping a close eye on Kadyrov. The Chechen president’s bodyguards are elite fighters from Russia’s FSB intelligence service. They protect him — but they also report anything out of the ordinary to their superiors in Moscow.

The bodyguards recently noted that Kadyrov was becoming increasingly audacious, especially in his quest for new sources of income. “Kadyrov is a toad raised by Putin,” says an FSB general. “Putin could easily choke on him.”