Grozny, Russia
President Vladimir Putin has appointed warlord Ramzan Kadyrov president of Chechnya. Kadyrov, a widely feared militia commander, has been Chechnya’s prime minister and de facto ruler since his father, President Akhmad Kadyrov, was assassinated in 2004. His militia is notorious for brutalizing villages into submission through kidnapping and torture. “This shows you Putin’s contempt for the Chechens,” said Usam Baysaev of the Russian human-rights group Memorial. “A man with people around him that only know how to kill and torture has been handed the reins of power.”
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