Chechen leader behind ‘anti-gay purge’ says he’s ‘ready’ to resign
By Will Stroude
Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya and it’s gay purge, has revealed he’s ready to leave office.
The 41-year-old father of 12, who was endorsed by President Vladimir Putin last year, has led Chechnya since 2007 but may have plans to resign.
According to the Guardian, the announcement was made in a TV interview with nationwide channel Rossiya 1 yesterday (November 27), where Kadyrov was asked if he was ready to resign.
He replied: “It is possible to say that it is my dream.”
“Once there was a need for people like me to fight, to put things in order. Now we have order and prosperity… and time has come for changes in the Chechen Republic.”
Discussing a successor, Kadyrov said he’ll leave it for the Kremlin to choose: “This is the prerogative of the state leadership. If I am asked… there are several people who are 100 percent capable of carrying out these duties at the highest level.”
The news comes amid speculation that Putin will announce his run as president for a fourth term in an election next March.
The Chechen leader, who previously claimed that gay men do not exist in the Russian Republic, has been responsible for the region’s gay purge as over 100 gay and bisexual men have been arrested, imprisoned and tortured by authorities.
Reports suggest that at least 26 men have died in the crackdown, while horrific witness testimonies have told of families being summoned to kill their own gay relatives by Chechen authorities in a spate of state-backed ‘honour’ killings.
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