Not long ago, commenting on a series of news stories involving Kadyrovtsy, we wrote: «For Muslims watching all this, it is absolutely clear that this is an optical illusion deliberately created around Kadyrov and Kadyrovtsy, with which they are playing along for some reason. Because when it is necessary to intervene in a situation where it is necessary to protect Muslims who are being unlawfully oppressed or discriminated against, it turns out that Kadyrovtsy either does not have such possibilities or they are very limited. But when it is necessary to give the average Russian citizen the impression that the Kadyrovtsy are practically ruling Russia and establishing their own order in it, they are always there. It is obvious that in this way an information bubble is being inflated, which may be needed at the moment when the population, shocked by the defeat of Ukraine, for example, needs a new enemy on which it can deflect blame and vent its frustration, thus slightly compensating for the effect of the forthcoming national humiliation».
Yesterday’s quarrel between high-ranking Kadyrovtsy and Yevgeny Prigozhin, in which the latter involved known commanders of his international terrorist organization, showed that events are developing in this direction. What is interesting here is not the fact of public disputes between different formations of the regime, which, against the background of systemic problems on the front and in the rear, indicate the collapse of the system. What is interesting is what the military commander of Prigozhin’s «Wagner», Dmitry Utkin, said in response to Adam Delimkhanov’s proposal to meet and «talk like real men»: «We are always ready to talk as ‘men with men’. Besides, we have known each other since the first and second wars in Chechnya.
The allusion is quite clear — in the first war, Delimkhanov, Kadyrov and many people in his circle were on the side of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, that is, on the side of Russia’s enemies, against whom Dmitry Utkin, also known as Wagner, fought as part of the GRU special forces. In the Second Chechen War, Utkin fought for Russia, which, having amassed huge resources, ensured its superiority (it is worth noting that, unlike the 40-million-strong Ukraine, no one helped the million-strong Ichkeria), as a result of which people like Kadyrov, Delimkhanov and others began to support Russia.
It is clear why Utkin is now reminding Delimkhanov and other Kadyrovtsy of this — he is trying to put them in their place. And this also reflects the opinion of many Russian security officials who are irritated that yesterday’s enemies of Russia and defectors to its side are trying to «boss around» native Russian officers who fought against them.
It should be understood that this is the promotion of jingoism and revanchism with which Prigozhin and those who support him are striving for power. Because after the defeat of the consolidated external enemy, the energy of this jubilant patriotism and revanchism will be directed, and is already being directed, not against external enemies, but against «internal enemies» — «bureaucrats,» «oligarchs,» «residents of Rublyovka,» and so on. And, especially since they themselves are falling into this trap, against those who until recently were open enemies of Russia and now behave like its owners, belittling its old patriots.
The most foolish thing that those who position themselves as Muslims can do in this situation is to compete for the role of the «main patriots of Russia». The most reasonable thing is to come back down to earth, not only figuratively but also literally, that is, to their own country, to gather with their fellow believers and compatriots to protect their people in the face of the approaching Russian turmoil.