Ignoring Kadyrov's demands by Moscow is a signal to the head of Chechnya

The absence of Moscow's reaction to Ramzan Kadyrov's demands to punish the law enforcers for the raid on the Kotelniki mosque indicates a decrease in his influence and was a signal to the head of Chechnya not to interfere not in his own affairs, a political analyst and human rights defenders have noted.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 7, law enforcers examined documents of visitors to the mosque located in the town of Kotelniki near Moscow. The raid conducted during the Friday namaz (prayer) outraged the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, who demanded that the law enforcers be held accountable. The head of Dagestan, Sergey Melikov, supported the Chechen leadership. However, by July 20, the law enforcement bodies and the governor of the Moscow Region had not reacted to these demands.

Kadyrov's influence in Moscow has declined, says Sergey Zhavoronkov, a senior fellow at the Gaidar Institute. According to his story, Chechnya wanted to hear Kadyrov's demands; and he could not disappoint his domestic audience, although the Russian audience was "deeply uninterested" in his demands.

The absence of response to Kadyrov's demands to punish the law enforcers is a signal to him not to interfere in others' affairs, Ruslan Kutaev, the President of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, is sure. In his opinion, Kadyrov's statements are aimed primarily at an audience in Chechnya and Dagestan.

Svetlana Gannushkina*, the head of the "Civic Assistance" Committee*, agrees with Kutaev. In her opinion, Kadyrov will soon stop demanding punishment for the law enforcers.

The ignoring Kadyrov's demand to punish the law enforcers does not mean any weakening of his position, Oyub Titiev, a human rights defender, has objected. "Law enforcers and local authorities have never reacted to such acts. On the contrary, they defended any, even criminal, law enforcers' actions," he has stated.

At the same time, he is not sure that Kadyrov and Melikov will go into conflict with law enforcers in order to prove their adherence to principles.

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.