16 October 2024, 20:27
Dagestani journalists dispute about nature of campaign in support of Kerimov
The campaign in support of Suleiman Kerimov in Dagestan has become a grassroots initiative out of gratitude to the senator for his charitable projects, some Dagestani journalists have suggested. Their opponent has objected that the campaign is demonstrative in nature and could have been a result of the use of administrative resources.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 12, after the Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, threatened Russian Senator Suleiman Kerimov with blood feud, Sergey Melikov, the head of Dagestan, recalled the senator's charitable projects and promised that the republic "would always support Kerimov in difficult times." The city Mayor of Derbent also spoke out in support of Kerimov. At the same time, the Muftiate of Dagestan has distanced itself from the Kadyrov versus Kerimov conflict.
On October 9, Ramzan Kadyrov, while speaking about the conflict around the Wildberries Company, mentioned Suleiman Kerimov, Senator from Dagestan, and Russian State Duma MPs, Bekkhan Barakhoev and Rizvan Kurbanov. He called on them to prove their non-involvement in ordering his murder and warned of his readiness to declare a blood feud against them. For more details about the conflict, watch the video.
Albert Esedov, a political scientist and journalist, treats the appeals of budget funded servants posted in the "For Our Suleiman!" Telegram channel as a grassroots initiative.
Milrad Fatullaev, the editor-in-chief of the RIA "Derbent", agrees that support for Kerimov in Dagestan "comes from below." "There is no use of administrative resources. As far as I know, there was no order to do this collectively," he said.
"In 2011, Kadyrov declared that the notion of blood feud had been eliminated in Chechnya. Today, the republic's top official is himself initiating a 'second breath' of this ancient Caucasian institution," Mr Fatullaev has recalled.
Another Dagestani journalist believes that the use of administrative resources in the campaign to support Kerimov in the republic was partially due to the need to respond to the situation and show Kerimov that "someone stood up for him and said some positive words."
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 15, 2024 at 05:14 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Oleg Ionov Source: СK correspondent
