When called upon, a huge number of people turned up in Grozny on January 22 to show their support for Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. The demonstration came after Kadyrov and his allies made a string of hostile statements against liberal politicians, activists, and journalists in Russia that were met with international condemnation. But demonstrators made clear where they stood when then echoed Kadyrov's line by calling opposition activists and critics of the Kremlin the “shame of Russia.”