Kadyrov alleges assassination plot amid business feud upheaval
The Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, accused three Russian deputies of planning his assassination and threatened them with 'blood feud', a concept in Chechen culture that means killing an enemy or a male family member of the enemy - Reuters report.
Kadyrov's conflict with politicians erupted over the merger of Russia's largest online retailer, Wildberries, with the advertising company Russ Group. The dispute was intensified by a family quarrel involving the Bakalchuk couple. Tatiana Kim, the founder of Wildberries and the wealthiest woman in Russia, filed for divorce from Vladislav, a minority co-owner of the company, who opposed the merger.
In September, there was an attempt to forcibly take over the Wildberries store in Moscow, during which at least one person died and several were injured. Ten people were arrested, including an MMA fighter and the deputy commander of the Chechen Akhmat unit, Umar Chichaev. Two people were charged with murder.
Vladislav Bakalchuk, one of the accused, allegedly sent armed attackers to invade the company's headquarters. There, they confronted armed security guards. The attack occurred near the Kremlin.
Ramzan Kadyrov sided with Bakalchuk and described the Wildberries and Russ Group merger as asset theft.
Kadyrov accuses
During a Wednesday meeting with security officials, Kadyrov announced that three deputies from regions neighbouring Chechnya planned to kill him. One of them was purportedly a wealthy senator from Dagestan, Suleyman Kerimov, accused by Vladislav Bakalczuk of a hostile takeover of Wildberries.
Kadyrov threatened that if these deputies do not prove they don't intend to kill him, he will "officially declare blood feud."
Russian media assess that the conflict over Wildberries has escalated into mafia-like feuds involving key political figures, reminiscent of those from the 1990s.
Kadyrov supports Vladislav Bakalchuk, while Russian President Vladimir Putin sided with his wife, Tatiana Kim. In a letter to Putin, Tatiana argued that her decisions, often against her husband's objections, could establish a globally competitive company. Putin, in response, ordered that it 'be done', as later confirmed by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, reports the Russian portal 'Forbes'.
