Chechen leader threatens MPs with ‘blood feud’

Ramzan Kadyrov has accused several Russian lawmakers of spreading lies and trying to kill him, according to Russian media

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has warned that he will “declare a blood feud” against several Russian MPs who he claims considered trying to assassinate him, Russian media outlets reported on Thursday. He has also demanded that they either prove or retract accusations that his men instigated a deadly clash at the headquarters of one of Russia’s biggest e-commerce companies, Wildberries, last month.

In July, the two co-founders of Wildberries, Tatyana and Vladislav Bakalchuk, confirmed that they were divorcing, with the process marred by a property dispute involving the company. Under Tatyana’s leadership, the firm had intended to conduct a merger with advertising giant Russ, despite the objections of Vladislav, who holds a 1% stake in the multibillion-dollar enterprise.

The conflict escalated in mid-September, when he, along with several other individuals, ended up embroiled in a shootout at the firm’s headquarters in Moscow. While the estranged husband insists that he was there for business talks, his ex-wife has described the incident as a failed “raid.” The confrontation left two people dead, and five more injured, including several police officers.

Kadyrov has publicly supported Mr Bakalchuk in the conflict.

In a post on his Telegram channel late on Wednesday, Kadyrov wrote that “there are people who are sparing no efforts in putting a national spin on this, and claim that [members of Kadyrov’s military unit] were allegedly the initiators of the conflict.”

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In an accompanying video of a meeting with Chechen officials, Kadyrov addressed Senator Suleyman Kerimov, who represents the southern Republic of Dagestan, as well as MP Bekkhan Barakhoyev from Ingushetia, and MP Rizvan Kurbanov from Dagestan.

“Unless they prove the opposite, I officially declare a blood feud [against the lawmakers],” Kadyrov said in Chechen, as quoted by TASS. He went on to claim that “there are witnesses, there are people, who [the lawmakers] were asking about the price for a hit,” the report continued, clarifying that he meant they were considering an assassination attempt on him.

In July, the Chechen leader posted a video of him talking with Mr Bakalchuk, in which he spoke of a “brazen attempt to raid” Wildberries by Russ Outdoor, supported by a “few renowned individuals from the Caucasus region.” Kadyrov vowed to help the co-founder prevent the “illegal” merger with Russ.

According to Russian media, the owners of Russ allegedly have close ties to Senator Kerimov and MP Barakhoyev.