Putin's controversial pardons: From Russian prisons to Ukrainian front

Vladimir Putin pardoned one of the five Chechens who carried out the assassination of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in the centre of Moscow in February 2015. After serving only 7 years, Temirlan Eskerchanov was released and is currently fighting in Ukraine.

So far, one of the most high-profile cases was the release in 2023 of former police officer Sergey Khadzhikurbanov. He was responsible for the murder of one of the most popular critics of Vladimir Putin's government, journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Now, according to TASS, Vladimir Putin pardoned one of the five Chechens who killed Boris Nemtsov on the night of February 27, 2015. Although Putin himself was not supposed to be behind this crime, many indications are pointing to Ramzan Kadyrov, who is closely associated with the dictator. He delegated his best men for this task.

Although, at first glance, the decision to pardon murderers may seem strange, it is primarily due to the lack of ready and willing Russians to fight in Ukraine. For this reason, for some time now, the Russian army has been recruiting in prisons, from where they obtain soldiers ready for anything at a relatively low cost.