Chechnya’s Ramzan Kadyrov has been formally inaugurated for another term as head of the volatile Russian region.
Speaking at his inauguration ceremony in Grozny on October 5, Kadyrov promised to ensure steady economic growth, cut unemployment, and protect social stability.
Kadyrov said “a huge focus must be on the work of the spiritual and moral upbringing of young people” in order to prevent recruitment by Islamic extremists.
He said "it is important that young people obtain religious knowledge in accordance with the norms of the Koran and Sunnah,” the traditional social and legal practices of Islam.
The 39-year-old Kadyrov, who is backed by Putin and has led Chechnya since 2007, won reelection on September 18 with more than 97 percent of the official vote tally.
But activists blame Kadyrov and his paramilitary forces for serious rights abuses, including the widespread use of kidnapping, torture, and extrajudicial killing.