Putin Honors Akhmat Kadyrov on 75th Birth Anniversary, Praising His Role in Restoring Peace to Chechnya

MOSCOW, August 23. /TASS/. The name of the first president of the Republic of Chechnya, Akhmat Kadyrov, is forever inscribed in the history of Russia, President Vladimir Putin said in a video message on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the birth of Akhmat-Khadzhi Kadyrov.

"Today, August 23, would have marked the 75th anniversary of the birth of Akhmat Kadyrov - the first president of the Chechen Republic and a Hero of Russia," the president stated.

"His name has been enshrined forever in the country’s history, and for us he will remain a person whose strength of spirit and unconditional love for his people could overcome evil and make a step to returning peace to the ancient Chechen land," Putin emphasized.

According to him "It was the faith in his people and its future that determined the path in Akhmat Kadyrov’s life, helped him make the most important, very conscious decisions during the dramatic and hard period that Chechnya was going through in the 1990s."

"At the most difficult juncture, when the society was split and divided and the republic was virtually in ruins, Akhmat-Khadzhi took on a tremendous responsibility. His position based on his deep conviction was clear-cut: Chechnya’ destiny is inseparable from that of Russia, and his main objective was not only to stop the fratricidal conflict, but also to put an end to it forever, to revive Chechnya, preserve the entire North Caucasus and to put up a reliable barrier to the aggression of international terrorism supported from abroad by the enemies of Russia’s multiethnic people."

The Russian president pointed out that "Akhmat-Khadzhi was a courageous man, who understood very well how hard the burden was and what risks he was going to take on."

"Being a truly spiritual leader, he managed to lead the people and do everything to bring back peace to the long-suffering Chechnya and confidence about the future to its residents," according to Putin.

"His word and influence rescued many people from the traps set by radicals and false preachers whereas his consistent position delivered a crushing blow to the pseudo religious propaganda and attempts to impose extremist ideology in Chechnya alien to the republic and turn religion into an instrument of statehood destruction," the Russian president noted.

"I remember our meetings and conversations. I remember how he explained to me why he had decided to head Chechnya. ‘Today, he said, we need people ready to sacrifice everything, and if necessary, their lives for the sake of their people’."

"Regretfully, these words were prophetic. He did not manage to accomplish much of what he had planned, and there can be neither forgiveness nor oblivion for that crime, committed despicably and cynically on Victory Day which is sacred to our country," Putin said.

"Akhmat-Khadzhi always believed that Chechnya would be thriving and prosperous. I am confident that he would have been proud of the present-day republic, its transformation and dynamic progress. He would have been proud of how worthy his course is continued by his adherents, above all by his son," the Russian president added.

Akhmat Kadyrov became president of the Chechen Republic in October 2003. On May 9, 2004, he was killed in a bomb blast at a stadium in Chechnya’s capital Grozny during the World War II memorial victory parade.