Chechenization

In Chechnya Weekly, Andrei Smirnov comments on the “Potemkinization” of the Chechnya conflict:

In the part of his speech that mentioned Chechnya, Vladimir Putin explained that the Russian strategy in the region was to transfer “the responsibility for ensuring security almost 100 percent to the Chechen people.” In reality, this does not equate to an end of the conflict, but is simply an attempt to transform it into a civil war, with Chechens killing Chechens. That is the main aim of the Kremlin’s Chechenization policy.

And, with Putin’s appointment of Ramzan Kadyrov as acting president of Chechnya, this process has just advanced one stage further.