Chechen leader Kadyrov vows blood feud against Russian lawmakers amid alleged assassination plot
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has declared his readiness to announce a blood feud against Dagestan Senator Suleyman Kerimov and two members of the Russian State Duma, accusing them of plotting to assassinate him. In a Telegram post on Wednesday, October 9, Kadyrov disclosed that he held a meeting with Chechnya's security chiefs. He also shared a nine-minute video featuring excerpts from the meeting, where he primarily spoke in the Chechen language.
According to TASS, Kadyrov mentioned Kerimov, along with State Duma deputies Bekhan Barakhoev and Rizvan Kurbanov, in the context of an incident at the Wildberries office. In the video, parts of Kadyrov's speech in Russian do indeed reference Kerimov and the two deputies, although it's not directly about Wildberries.
"If they don't prove otherwise, I officially declare a blood feud against Barakhoev, Suleyman Kerimov, and Rizvan Kurbanov. There are witnesses and people to whom they reached out, asking how much it would cost to execute the order to kill me," TASS quotes the Chechen leader.
The Agency clarifies that Kadyrov brought up Kerimov in remarks on a shooting near the Wildberries office. "It was a business situation. Bekhan Barakhoev was there, Suleyman Kerimov was there, Rizvan Kurbanov was there. They have their business, which they not only seized from a wife. They ordered a hit on me," the news outlet Agentsvo cites Kadyrov’s translated words.
In his Telegram post, Kadyrov also writes that the meeting addressed the Wildberries office incident. "There are people who are trying hard to give this a national hue and claim that the instigators of the conflict are supposedly Kadyrov's men. I appeal to everyone fanning this theme. If anyone has any issues with Kadyrov's men, express them directly to me, as I am the main Kadyrov's man," wrote the leader of Chechnya.
The shooting near the Wildberries office in central Moscow occurred on September 18 during daylight, as Vladislav Bakalchuk, the husband of the marketplace's founder, arrived there for a business meeting, according to his statements. Bakalchuk was accompanied by security from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Wildberries claimed Bakalchuk attempted to "unlawfully enter" the office, and his entourage initiated the shooting. Bakalchuk asserted shots came from inside the office first. The shootout resulted in the deaths of two Ingushetian.