RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
Let's hear now about a strongman in Russia. No, not the one we hear from so often, but the strongman of Chechnya. That's the tiny republic that fought and lost two brutal wars of independence with Russia. It's still a violent place, as NPR's Corey Flintoff reports.
COREY FLINTOFF, BYLINE: Ramzan Kadyrov likes to portray himself as an action hero from the rugged Caucasus Mountains of southern Russia. The 39-year-old leader of Chechnya appears to have nearly unlimited power in the republic, as shown in this rally in support of him and Putin last week in Grozny, the Chechen capital. Tens of thousands of people turned out for the event, though some of them told reporters that they'd been ordered to attend.
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) Ramzan, Ramzan, Ramzan.
FLINTOFF: Kadyrov wasn't there, one of his closest allies, Adam Delimkhanov, whipped up the crowd with a denunciation of President Putin's opposition.
ADAM DELIMKHANOV: (Speaking foreign language).
FLINTOFF: "We know our enemies and the traitors of this country," he said. "We have the lists of them in our pockets. Wherever they are, they'll answer according to the law and not by the law." Delimkhanov didn't name names, but people in the crowd were provided with posters that included caricatures of some prominent Russian human rights campaigners. Kadyrov had even stronger words against so-called traitors in a recent interview.
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LEADER RAMZAN KADYROV: (Through interpreter) They are the enemies of our state. And wherever they appear, any patriot ought to smash their faces because they are not citizens of Russia. They are the enemies of our people.
FLINTOFF: Kadyrov began his career as a rebel, fighting the Russians under the lead of his father, a Muslim cleric and Chechen separatist leader. The Kadyrovs switched to the Russian side during the second Chechen war, and Ramzan Kadyrov took power in the republic in 2007, a few years after his father was assassinated. Since then, Kadyrov or people associated with him have been accused in a series of murders of journalists and opposition figures, charges he's always denied. Kadyrov portrays himself as a loyal foot soldier of President Putin.
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PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: (Foreign language spoken).
FLINTOFF: Earlier this week, after Kadyrov had made his threats against the opposition, Putin praised the Chechen leader for his effective work. But Tanya Lokshina, the head of Human Rights Watch in Russia, says Kadyrov's recent actions may signal that his position has become less stable.
TANYA LOKSHINA: This is not a sign of strength, but rather a sign of weakness. If Mr. Kadyrov is being so aggressive, if he's being so active in trying to demonize his critics, it means that he is worried.
FLINTOFF: Lokshina thinks that Kadyrov is feeling vulnerable in his relations with the Kremlin and among his own people in Chechnya. She points out that just over a year ago, Islamist militants staged one of their most violent attacks in Grozny, killing more than a dozen policemen.
LOKSHINA: And Moscow understood that Kadyrov is not as in control as he claimed to be.
FLINTOFF: Lokshina also notes that Kadyrov has been cracking down on dissent at home, sometimes forcing local critics to appear on television to be berated and humiliated. She believes that Kadyrov is lashing out because he's hoping to convince everyone that he's still the essential strongman in the Caucasus Mountains. Corey Flintoff, NPR News, Moscow.