Chechnya’s leader has not been shy about using Instagram to exhibit his strongman bonafides. Ramzan Kadyrov has bedded with tigers, straddled wolves and sparred, quite literally, with bureaucrats.

But a photo posted on May 23 showing him cuddling up with three kittens in his Grozny palace has sparked a new battle with a top Moscow socialite.

Kadyrov announced on Twitter the next day that he and Russian TV host Tina Kandelaki had entered into an interminable debate about whose cats were cuter. 

Дорогие друзья! У нас с @tina_kandelaki идет спор, у кого кошка красивее))). Мне кажется, что моя… instagram.com/p/ZsV8vhiRjS/

— RKadyrov (@RKadyrov) May 24, 2013

Kadyrov’s kitten, Zazulya, a name he described as "melodious and uplifting," took on Kandelaki’s cat, Brasiliya, in a battle to see whose Instragram post would reach 5,000 likes first.

Although the Russian celebrity's 255,000 followers far outnumber the Chechen leader's, Kadyrov seemed to have had more riding on the battle -- retweeting over fifty messages in support of Zazulya and taunting Kandelaki in the process.

"Open your eyes," he implored."Now give this Braziliya to someone else and get yourself a cute kitten."

Kadyrov, who said his cat was "closely following the vote," also said it would be unpatriotic to vote for a cat named Braziliya, Russian for Brazil.  

Друзья, Зазуля внимательно следит за голосованием и благодарит вас за поддержку))) twitter.com/RKadyrov/statu…

— RKadyrov (@RKadyrov) May 24, 2013

Kadyrov’s cat was the first to reach 5,000 likes and Kandelaki, a Kremlin ally who co-owns a lucrative media production business, accepted defeat.

"Of course, when you have the support of a strong man it’s much easier to win," she said. 

Installed by Russian President Vladimir Putin to his post after the assassination of his father, Akhmad Kadyrov, the Chechen leader has been accused of ruling the republic with an iron fist and of committting human rights violations, including torturing opponents.

-- Glenn Kates

For months, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has been treating his numerous social media followers to a blow-by-blow account of his life.

Besides posting pictures of mundane activities such as a trip to the dentist, Kadyrov has used the Instagram photo-sharing service to display images of himself hanging out in a bathrobe with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and chatting with French actor and tax exile Gerard Depardieu.

Now he has added another luminary to his collection of pix.

A number of photos posted on Instagram this week show him cozily fraternizing in Grozny with Depardieu and English actress Elizabeth Hurley (and a kitten). 

It appears that the British thesp may have been in the Chechen capital as part of preparations for a film she is set to shoot with Depardieu in Moscow and Grozny. 

On May 11, Hurley told her followers on Twitter that she was "prepping for a new movie," which she was shooting with Depardieu in Russia. 

According to media reports, the actors will be appearing in a thriller called "Turquoise," which stars Depardieu as a man who travels to Russia after his son is killed there. Hurley will apparently play his ex-girlfriend, who becomes involved in his quest.

A synopsis released by the film's London-based production company says the upcoming movie will feature "outstanding action scenes shot against the magnificent backdrops of Moscow and Grozny."

Although landing a role opposite the legendary French movie star is something of a coup for Hurley, who is perhaps as well known for wearing plunging dresses held together with safety pins as she is for her acting achievements, this latest film project could cause some headaches for her publicists.

At some stage, it's highly likely that the "Austin Powers" star's PR people will have to field questions about her hobnobbing with Kadyrov, who has been widely accused of ruling Chechnya with an iron fist and committing serious rights abuses -- charges he has repeatedly denied.

In 2011, following criticism from human rights groups, the Oscar-winning American actress Hilary Swank felt compelled to issue an apology, saying her attendance at a concert and party organized by Kadyrov was something she "deeply regrets." 

-- Coilin O'Connor

Russia's foreign minister called it "outrageous."

In Baku, hopes were expressed that the incident would not damage Russian-Azerbaijani relations.

The issue? Allegations of vote theft at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest.

Azerbaijani officials are investigating why Azerbaijan gave Russia’s song entry zero points at this year's final, held in Malmo, Sweden, on May 18.

The probe was launched after it emerged that Azerbaijani viewers voting by text message and phone put the Russian entry, Dina Garipova, in second place. That should have secured her 10 points from Baku.

But when the Azerbaijani vote was announced on television, it awarded Russia no points.

At a news conference in Moscow on May 21, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, said their countries will investigate the possible violations.

Mammadyarov indicated that Azerbaijan’s public television broadcaster needs to clarify the situation due to the responsibility it bears as the main partner of the European Broadcasting Union, which holds the contest.

"According to the data from all three mobile-phone operators -- and there are three of them in Azerbaijan -- Russia's [representative] was consistently voted in second," he said. "Where have those votes gone? How have they disappeared?"

Lavrov said that a response would be forthcoming to the "outrageous" incident.

"Certainly, there is nothing to be happy about knowing that we -- or rather our participant [in Eurovision] -- has been robbed of 10 points."

Camil Guliyev, the head of Azerbaijan’s state broadcaster, said in a statement that he hopes the incident "possibly initiated by certain interest groups, will not cast a shadow over the brotherly relations of the Russian and Azerbaijani peoples."

Eurovision viewers from all participating countries vote by phone or text message. Television broadcasters then announce the votes live at the end of the contest, after collecting them from national phone operators.

Russia awarded Azerbaijan’s representative, Farid Mammadov, the maximum 12 points. Mammadov’s ballad, "Hold Me," finished second in the competition after Denmark’s "Only Teardrops."

Ten points from Azerbaijan still wouldn't have been enough to secure a top spot for Garipova, whose "What If" gave Russia a fifth-place finish.

Still, the "missing points" scandal has shone a spotlight on the contest's highly controversial voting system, whereby countries often seem to award points to song entries based on geopolitics.

Azerbaijan hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012 amid criticism of its poor human rights record as well as corruption scandals surrounding the construction of Baku's Eurovision arena and the demolition of houses in preparation for the contest.

Despite attempts to maintain good relations, there have been tensions in the past between Russia and Azerbaijan over issues such as weapons transfers and oil and gas pipelines.

-- Deana Kjuka

The New York Eurasian Film Festival kicks off on May 20 with "Awakening," a documentary film from Kazakhstan about "green development." The film is the brainchild of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev’s youngest daughter, Aliya Nazarbaeva.

The trailer for the 2012 documentary features scenes of green fields as Nazarbaeva talks about the potential of new energy.

WATCH: Trailer for "Awakening" (in Kazakh)


The 45-second trailer concludes with a shot of Nazarbaeva -- who is 33 -- looking longingly while mountains stretch behind her.

At the center of the documentary is Nazarbaev’s 2010 Astana Green Bridge Initiative. As the film’s official synopsis reads, the aim is to overcome global problems such as shortages of food and drinking water, environmental pollution, overpopulation, poverty, and climate change. The intro adds that Nazarbaeva is the "successor of her father's ideas" and the one in charge of the ecological movement in oil-rich Kazakhstan.

The Green Bridge Partnership program announced by Kazakhstan at the UN General Assembly in 2011 promotes cooperation between countries, the private sector, and organizations on green growth and green economic practices. The goal is to develop partnerships with "green" businesses and to create an environment  suitable for "green" technology and investment.

The initiative was endorsed by the UN Asia-Pacific Ministerial conference in 2010 and presented at the Rio+20 UN conference on sustainable development in 2011.

However it remains unclear how the program is being implemented in practice. According to the film's official synopsis, one example is a "modern settlement of 20 females near Almaty city" who have left the "so-called blessings of civilization."

"Awakening" appears to be Aliya Nazarbaeva’s first venture into the film industry. She is well known for opening a high-end spa in Almaty called Luxor after she was inspired during a trip to Egypt, as well as a jewelry line carried by Italian jewelry retailer Damiani. According to her biography, she is also president of the Almatypharm corporation, director-general of Caspian Industries Ltd., and chairman of the board of Elistroy.

However, she is best known for her short-lived marriage in 1998 to Aidar Akaev, the eldest son of now-deposed Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev. Their marriage was hailed for connecting Central Asia’s ruling families.

The Eurasian film festival has been held just once before, in 2010. According to information available on its website, its goal is to promote cultural interaction between the United States and Eurasian countries.

Twenty-one films from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Bulgaria, and Poland will be screened this week. The films span a wide array of themes such as loneliness, illness, the nomadic lifestyle, and family dynamics.

One of the festival’s jewels is “Parizod,” an Uzbek film that in September 2012 won the Grand Prix award at Kinoshok, an annual festival for movies from the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltics.

-- Deana Kjuka

The Week Ahead is a detailed listing of key events of the coming week affecting RFE/RL's broadcast region.

Now on Twitter! Daily updates at @The_Week_Ahead.




MONDAY, May 20:

Afghanistan/India: Afghan President Hamid Karzai pays a visit to India (to May 22).

Africa: Addis Ababa hosts the Summit of the African Union (to May 27).

Azerbaijan/Russia: Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov visits Moscow (to May 21).

EU: European Parliament holds its plenary session in Strasbourg (to May 23).

Georgia: Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze visits Japan (to May 24).

Kyrgystan: UN human rights senior official Ivan Simonovic conducts his first-ever mission to Central Asia, starting in Kyrgystan.
   
Russia/CoE: Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Secretary-General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland in Sochi.

Russia: Trial of opposition leader and anticorruption blogger Aleksei Navalny resumes in the central Russian city of Kirov.

Russia/U.S.: Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev visits the United States to deliver a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama from Russia President Vladimir Putin (to May 21).

U.S.: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry releases the State Department's annual report on International Religious Freedom for 2012.

World: Global conference on international current affairs, the Doha Forum 2013, opens in Qatar (to May 22).

World: The 30th anniversary of the first reported cases of AIDS.


TUESDAY, May 21:

Iran: Iran's Guardian Council is expected to announce the final list of eligible candidates for the June 14 presidential election.

Kazakhstan/OSCE: Military representatives from Belarus, France, Germany, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan meet in Astana to discuss developments in the field of confidence- and security-building measures (to May 24).

Serbia/Kosovo: The prime ministers of Serbia and Kosovo are scheduled to meet in Brussels.

Tajikistan: UN human rights senior official Ivan Simonovic visits Tajikistan (to May 22).

Turkmenistan: Ashgabat hosts the Turkmenistan Gas Congress 2013 (to May 22).

UN: World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.

U.S.: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry travels to the Middle East and Africa (to May 26).


WEDNESDAY, May 22:

Armenia/Syria: Regular flights between Armenia and Syria are expected to resume.

Azerbaijan: The Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner, Nils Muiznieks, visits Baku (to May 25).

China/Pakistan: Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang visits Pakistan (to May 23).

EU: Brussels hosts a European Council meeting.

Iraq: Abu Dhabi hosts a conference titled "Iraq Energy 2013/2014: Business and Investment Opportunities in Iraq's Oil and Gas Sectors" (to May 23).

Kazakhstan: The Astana Economic Forum opens (to May 24).

UN: International Day for Biological Diversity.


THURSDAY, May 23:

Kazakhstan/OSCE: Almaty hosts the fourth Central Asian Internet Development Forum (to May 24).

Moldova: Representatives from Russia, Ukraine, the United States, the European Union, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), as well as Moldova and Transdniester, meet in the so-called 5+2 format in Odesa (May 24).

U.S./Iran: Wilson Center hosts a discussion titled "Iran: The Battle for the Presidency."

World: Istanbul hosts the 38th Congress of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and an international forum in the framework of the congress (to May 27).

World: Amnesty International publishes its annual report of the global state of human rights.


FRIDAY, May 24:

Armenia: The Armenian opposition Heritage Party plans to hold a series of rallies at Yerevan’s Liberty Square seven days in a row (to May 30).

Balkans: Dublin hosts a conference titled "EU Enlargement and the Western Balkans - 10 Years after Thessaloniki," organized by the Irish Presidency of the EU.

Serbia/Russia: Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and Russian President Vladimir Putin expected to sign a strategic-partnership agreement in Sochi.

Turkmenistan: UN human rights senior official Ivan Simonovic visits Turkmenistan (to May 25).

WEF: World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa 2013 opens in Jordan (to May 26).


SATURDAY, May 25:

Caucasus: Azerbaijani town of Qabala hosts the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey business forum.

ICTY: The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) marks the 20th anniversary of its establishment.

World: International Missing Children's Day.


SUNDAY, May 26:

Georgia: Independence Day.

Uzbekistan: UN human rights senior official Ivan Simonovic visits Uzbekistan (to May 29).

Ramzan Kadyrov is threatening to close his Instagram account after a colorful three months using the photo-sharing site.

The Chechen leader issued the warning after he posted a photo earlier this week of himself standing with an ethnic Chechen man who was widely believed to still be in jail for participating in the killing of an ethnic Russian soccer fan in 2010.

Bekkhan Ibragimov, pictured with Kadyrov on Instagram on May 14, was convicted of hooliganism and causing bodily harm for his part in the fatal knifing of Yuri Volkov, a fan of the Moscow-based soccer team Spartak FC.

Volkov’s killing stoked nationalist protests in the Russian capital and heightened animosity toward the North Caucasus. The picture has rekindled some of that tension.

In a caption that went with the controversial photo, Kadyrov explained he was helping Ibragimov deal with corruption at the local Federal Migration Services so that he could receive identity documents. Kadyrov reportedly fired an official.

But as soon as the identity of Ibragimov was established on the Instagram account, Kadyrov’s feed was flooded with angry comments.

“I'm tired. Fed up,” Kadyrov wrote on his blog on May 17.

“I no longer understand my subscribers at all. One minute you say we need to fight corruption and punish bribe-takers, but when you see real action in this direction you start discussing and condemning the person that exposed illegal action by a bureaucrat,” Kadyrov said in earlier comments cited by Russian media. “Your comments are worth absolutely nothing. It is just empty chatter. That’s why I think it’s probably better for me to delete [my] Instagram [account] and work without taking an interest in your opinions on this or that issue.”

Ibragimov received a sentence of five years and three months in connection with Volkov’s killing, while an accomplice was given 17 years in prison. Ibragimov was reportedly released on parole after a ruling from the Chechen Supreme Court in early May.

The daily “Moskovsky komsomolets” on May 17 criticized the Federal Penitentiary Service and suggested there were violations in the “miraculous way” Ibragimov “was freed” after serving less than half his sentence.  

Registered in February this year, Kadyrov’s Instagram account has garnered more than 130,000 subscribers.

After Kadyrov’s threat to stop using Instagram, Twitter was inundated with sarcastic tweets directed at the Chechen leader. One user tweeted: “Allah gives and Allah takes.” Another wrote: “What a shame, I’m literally sobbing!” And another: “Hoorah, Kadyrov’s deleting instagram!”

Kadyrov has used the photo-sharing service to post photographs of himself petting a tiger cub and a wolf, as well as hanging out with French actor Gerard Depardieu.

UPDATE: According to the Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti, Kadyrov on May 17 reversed himself, saying he would "continue to be on Instagram, Twitter, and LiveJournal."

-- Tom Balmforth

MOSCOW -- Forget bewigged "spies" and the impasse over Syria. Could chess and convicts take the sting out of U.S.-Russia ties?

On May 15, 20 prisoners from the United States and Russia are scheduled to clash over the chessboard in an online tournament. It is the first of its kind.

Russia has drafted a 10-man team from prisons in Krasnodar Krai and the oblasts of Astrakhan, Samara, Saratov, and Sverdlovsk. They will come face to face with 10 convicts from Chicago online via Skype.

The fixture is not quite redolent of the ideological face-offs between the Soviet Union and United States that featured chess greats Boris Spassky, Bobby Fischer, and Garry Kasparov.

But the tournament certainly comes at a difficult time for the old Cold War foes. Disagreement over missile defense, adoptions, and human rights has seen mutual trust plummet. The United States and Russia have also failed to agree on how to resolve the civil war raging in Syria that has claimed some 70,000 lives.

The glimmer of closer security cooperation that emerged after last month's Boston Marathon bombings also looks in jeopardy. On May 14, Russia said it had intercepted a CIA agent using diplomatic cover to lure a Russian spy to work for the United States in return for a huge financial reward.

Moscow said the American was apprehended with Inspector Clouseau-esque spy accoutrements including wigs, a compass, a map of Moscow, and a flashlight. It certainly wasn’t the sinister spy craft of John le Carre, but it once again signaled how Washington and Moscow are far from bridging the gap in trust.

The series of chess matches -- which presumably required high-level clearance -- is unlikely to offer a way out of the stalemate.

Plans for the tournament were set in motion after Russian chess legend Anatoly Karpov last year made a trip to Chicago where he met the head of Cook County Jail.

The meeting was held in April – the month before President Vladimir Putin returned to the Kremlin and ushered in a frostier relationship with Washington.

Karpov, a State Duma deputy, will present winners of the tournament with certificates. Interfax cited a spokesperson for the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) as saying that the event will be attended by Karpov and the FSIN management as well as counterparts from Chicago.

The "Rossiiskaya gazeta" government newspaper notes that prisoners who take part do not qualify for early release. But it reports that “taking part in the chess event, in the eyes of the FSIN, is evidence of a desire to set out on the road to correction.”

-- Tom Balmforth

UPDATE: "The Chicago Sun Times" reports that the final score in the match was Russia: 14, United States: 5