Kadyrov’s latest stunt came on Sunday, when he published an Instagram video showing a Putin rival, Russian opposition politician Mikhail Kasyanov, in the optical sight of a rifle. Coming after the murder of popular liberal politician Boris Nemstov last year—among the five Chechens suspected in the killing is an associate of Kadyrov’s —it was yet another indication that Putin may have created a monster he can barely control any longer and is not eager to advertise ..
.. Still, most Chechens have been happy to support Kadyrov; under his rule, thanks to billions of rubles poured in by Putin, Chechnya turned from a ruined post-war land of misery to a construction heaven, an envy for most neighboring republics.