My newsletter provides analysis and insights on terrorism & insurgency, private military companies, and state-linked security services in Russia. I provide research on Russia and academic editing services.
Chechen Prime Minister Magomed Daudov revealed that the republic is in the process of forming a new unit within the Defence ministry, and that it will be manned by 2,000 fighters.
Daudov’s comments came during Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov’s annual direct line — a local imitation of one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regular televised talkfests.
Kadyrov wears his best outfit for his annual broadcast.
Daudov was providing a year-end summary and noted that Chechnya had already created four Ministry of Defence and Rosgvardia regiments and five battalions since the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine. In case you’ve been struggling to keep track, these are:
The Zapad-Akhmat, Vostok-Akhmat, and Yug-Akhmat Battalions and the Sever-Akhmat Regiment (all MoD), created in mid-2022;
OMON Akhmat-1 (Rosgvardia), created in October 2022;
The Akhmat-Rossiya and Akhmat-Chechnya Regiments (both MoD), created in June 2023;
The Sheikh Mansur Battalion (MoD) and the Baysangur Benoyevskiy Operational Battalion (Rosgvardia), created in October 2023.
For good measure, it also reconstituted the Oil and Gas Regiment in August 2022, though a previous regiment by this name goes as far back as 2000.
Most of these new unit were created with the express purpose of supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine. ChGTRK Groznyy reported that Chechnya has sent 51,396 fighters in total, including 20,275 volunteers – though these numbers are almost certainly inflated by the inclusion of non-Chechens who have transited through the Russian University of Spetsnaz. I’ll have an article for Riddle Russia soon on the role Chechnya is playing in Ukraine, so stay tuned!
Daudov also said the war had cost Chechnya RUB 35.856 billion, but these were non-budgetary funds. Which makes me think I should look up what the Chechen equivalent of the tooth fairy is. If you know, hit reply!
The new unit doesn’t have a name yet — at least not one that’s been made public — so we’ll have to guess. There are no bonus points for guesses that include Akhmat in the title though! I’m going to put my pin in the “Imam Shamil Battalion”, not because Kadyrov likes to evoke Shamil (he doesn’t), but because it muddies the Ichkerian claim to the legacy, a la Sheikh Mansur. It won’t be the Dzhokhar Dudayev Regiment though — I think he’ll let them keep that one. Answers on a digital postcard please.
I’m in the process of building my knowledge hub for Russian security issues, which I hope to launch in March next year. It will include guides to and data on the Chechen security services and their commanders, plus a handy visualisation of their organisational structure. Because honestly, even I have to sometimes check which Akhmat belongs where!
Elsewhere in the world of Russian security
đź’Ł Terrorism & insurgency đź’Ł
Kommersant sheds light on Dagestan attack investigation: Russian daily Kommersant has revealed details on the investigation into the June 2024 terrorist attacks in Derbent and Makhachkala, which left at least 20 people dead. According to the newspaper, 11 people were involved in the attacks, which investigators claim were motivated by “national and religious hatred towards the citizens of Israel” (two synagogues and two Orthodox churches were targeted in the attacks). Moscow’s Basmanny Court has extended the arrest of three of the people suspected of aiding the attack — Magomed Magomedov, Khalid Magomedov, and Zaur Magomedov — until March 2025; all three deny their guilt and claim that they were set up. Magomed Kagirov, the younger brother of one of the attackers, was allegedly supposed to participate but refused to pledge allegiance to the group’s leader and withdrew (he is presumably the suspect originally identified as K.); his arrest has been extended until February 2025. Five more attackers were killed in the attack itself; Kommersant named one of them Dalgat Daudov, rather than the previously identified Adil Omarov. The identities and status of the other two people implicated in the attacks are not clear: now-former Sergokalinskiy Rayon Head Magomed Omarov, the father of two of the attackers, and Adilpasha Omarov, another of sons, are both still in detention but charged with non-terrorism-related offences. You can find full details on the attack in the Event in Review article on the Threatologist website.
Terrorist attacks averted in Dagestan: A security service source claimed that five people who were planning terrorist attacks have been arrested in Dagestan’s Kizlyarskiy Rayon. According to the source, the men had already acquired the components for improvised explosive devices and more than a ton of ammonium nitrate was seized. Dagestan’s Supreme Court said that the suspects had been arrested for two months.
Explosion reported near police base in Chechnya: Chechen opposition channels posted images purporting to show an explosion in the courtyard of a house in Groznyy — apparently the result of a drone attack. The house is located across the road from the base of a police unit. Kadyrov confirmed that a drone attack, which he identified as Ukrainian, had occurred during his annual direct line. The Ukrainian military has not commented. The Russian University of Spetsnaz was attacked with drones in late October.
Ingushetian man convicted of funding Islamic State: A court has sentenced an Ingushetian resident to 11 years in prison for collecting money on behalf of IS. According to prosecutors, he gathered RUB 14 million in total.
Supreme Court confirms terrorism conviction: Russia’s Supreme Court rejected the appeal of Dagestani men Islam Barzukayev, Gasan Kurbanov, and Mirzali Mirzaliyev, who had earlier been convicted of preparing attacks on the security services. Investigators claim that Barzukayev had lived under IS in Syria and then formed a terrorist cell with the other two men on his return to Russia in 2018. The men were arrested in 2019. The European Court of Human Rights found that they had been tortured , and their lawyers also claimed that weapons had been planted, but the Supreme Court was unmoved by the complaints.
Stavropol resident accused of supporting Free Russia Legion: The Southern District Military Court is reviewing the case of Dmitriy Fimushkin, a resident of Stavropol Kray who was detained in October 2023 and is accused of treason and attempting to recruit an acquaintance to the Free Russia Legion, which is fighting alongside Ukraine. Fimushkin faces between 12 and 20 years in prison if found guilty.
Four members of Batalkhadzhintsy detained over Crocus attack: Four members of the Batalkhadzhintsy Brotherhood have reportedly been detained in Ingushetia on suspicion of aiding the perpetrators of the March 2024 terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall. According to security service sources, the suspects are aged between 22 and 35 and helped Batyr Kulyayev — himself accused of supplying the attackers with weapons and now on the wanted list — evade arrest.
Memorial to Prigozhin erected in Central African Republic: The authorities in the Central African Republic (CAR) have unveiled a monument to late Wagner owner Yevgeniy Prigozhin. The statue shows Prigozhin holding a walkie-talkie and wearing a bullet-proof vest and also features Dmitriy Utkin, the long-standing Wagner commander who died in a plane crash with him in August 2023. The unveiling ceremony was attended by senior CAR state and military officials, including the defence minister and the chief of staff of the Armed Forces, as well as invited journalists.
Modern art in Africa
đźš” State-linked security services đźš”
Kadyrov launches attack on Bastrykin, Kolokoltsev: Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov used his annual direct line to criticise Investigative Committee Chairman Aleksandr Bastrykin and Interior Ministry Head Vladimir Kolokoltsev for incompetence, claiming “they are not in their places.” Kadyrov was responding to a question about an ethnic Chechen teenager facing trial in Moscow and used it as an opportunity to accuse the two federal officials of stoking ethnic tensions, being disconnected, and contributing to worse relations with Russia’s neighbours. He has clashed with Bastrykin before, and also joined Prigozhin in criticising Defence Ministry officials for their conduct of the war with Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitriy Peskov declined to comment.
Kadyrov and Bastrykin in happier times
Kadyrov also proposes violating Geneva Conventions: Kadyrov also used his speech to suggest that Ukrainian prisoners of war be used as human shields to protect against drone attacks — a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions. This was far from the first in relation to Chechen treatment of POWs: Kadyrov made similar suggestions following a drone attack in October. Kadyrov also invited one prisoner to shoot himself as they forced to appeal to the Ukrainian authorities for assistance. And he admitted that Tesla head Elon Musk hadn’t gifted him a Cybertruck, as previously claimed, in what was a busy day for the Chechen leader.
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My newsletter provides analysis and insights on terrorism & insurgency, private military companies, and state-linked security services in Russia. I provide research on Russia and academic editing services.
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