Media: Kadyrov Could Barely Be Resuscitated
- 31.12.2025, 19:13
The dictator of Chechnya has not appeared in public for a week.
The head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov was urgently hospitalized before a government event in Moscow, and for a week now he has not appeared in public, "Novaya Gazeta. Europe" citing sources.
On December 25, the traditional New Year's Eve meeting of the Russian State Council was held in Moscow under the chairmanship of Vladimir Putin. It was attended by governors and representatives of all Russian regions, except one - the Chechen Republic.
According to the source, Chechen head Ramzan Kadyrov planned to attend the State Council meeting personally and even flew to Moscow on December 24. However, on the night of December 24-25, Kadyrov's health deteriorated sharply and he was taken by intensive care vehicle to the Central Clinical Hospital of the Presidential Affairs Directorate. There was no contingency plan for such an emergency, and as a result the State Council was held without the participation of a representative of the Chechen Republic.
A source in the Chechen leader's entourage told the publication that "he was barely pumped up in Moscow, after which he returned home and has not appeared in public since then."
Since the beginning of last year, when the Chechen leader was hospitalized in Grozny's Aimedi private clinic, Kadyrov's condition has continued to deteriorate markedly. He indirectly acknowledged this himself during a recent direct line, saying that he had gone on official vacation four times this year alone. This is a highly unusual practice for the head of Chechnya, who is used to an irregular work schedule and close personal control over all processes in the republic. When Kadyrov was healthy, he could work around the clock, and he would only go on vacation for two weeks during the New Year vacations. This year, however, only one of his "New Year" vacations lasted almost two months.
In the course of the direct line, Kadyrov was also forced to comment on the obvious signs of his ill health. "I get nervous disorders," said the Chechen leader, "a constant feeling of tension, as if you were sitting on a current. He explained these symptoms by worrying about Chechen fighters who are on the frontline in Ukraine.
The Chechen leader has very rarely appeared in public this year and has practically stopped managing the region in his usual format.
He spends most of his time either at his residence or at the Aimedi clinic. According to Novaya Gazeta Europe's sources, Kadyrov has been consulted by German doctors twice this year. The last such consultation took place in November this year at a private clinic in Dubai. But these consultations apparently did not help either. According to a source in the Chechen Federal Security Service, "judging by the cowardly fragmentary conversations of [the Chechen head's] entourage, there is no hope for a good outcome."
Despite the critical health situation of the Chechen head, the Russian presidential administration has approved his candidacy for the upcoming 2026 elections.
Whether the Kremlin has a backup plan if Kadyrov is unable to take part in them is unknown. The publication's sources say that "no one is holding any behind-the-scenes talks in Moscow with possible successors [to Kadyrov]."