By Country / Russia

Chechen Premier Mobilizes Support

September 29, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov issued orders
on September 27 that all portraits of himself be removed from public places,
according to the website of the pro-Moscow Chechen administration on September 28.

Residents of
the towns of Argun and Gudermes were reportedly incensed by those orders, and in
some cases forcibly prevented them from being carried out.

Mass protests
took place in both towns on September 28 against the removal of Kadyrov
portraits, and also in the Urus-Martan, Shali, Vedeno, and Kurchaloi raions.


Young Kadyrov supporters also staged a demonstration in Grozny.

In what appears to be a
carefully orchestrated campaign to demonstrate the extent of the support he
enjoys among the Chechen population, Kadyrov
issued a call for order and calm on September 28, explaining that he considers
only two people -- President Vladimir Putin and his own late father, Akhmed-hadji Kadyrov  -- worthy of having their portraits publicly displayed.