Chechens in Ukraine: Kadyrov’s Holy War?

In the Ukraine war, Chechen leader Kadyrov wants to present himself as a useful helper to Putin with combat troops. What is striking is how he plays with Islamic symbolism. But what is his aim?

A video showing an alleged house-to-house fight in the city of Mariupol: men in uniform, some with long beards, shoot at a residential building. Allegedly, fighters from the Ukrainian right-wing nationalist Azov regiment are said to have entrenched themselves there. The scenes are accompanied by traditional Islamic singing. In Arabic it says, among other things: “The domes of truth are our helmets, the mosques are our barracks.”

Footage reminiscent of propaganda videos by Islamist groups in Syria that were shared a few days ago on Ramzan Kadyrov’s Telegram channel. Kadyrov has been the President of the Russian republic of Chechnya since 2007. He is regarded as Vladimir Putin’s governor. Since the beginning of the war, he has been posting videos for his 1.4 million followers that are said to show demonstrations in Chechnya and alleged acts of war in Ukraine. Military observers doubt whether Kadyrov’s troops actually play a significant role there.

Propaganda videos with Islamic symbols

Kadyrov repeatedly plays with Islamic symbolism in the sometimes martial videos. Between street fights and flag salutes there are scenes showing Kadyrov and his entourage praying in a mosque. In videos that supposedly show Kadyrov’s soldiers at the front, bearded men shout “Allahu Akbar” or raise their right forefingers in the air – a sign frequently used by Islamists. It is the commitment to “Tauhid”, the Muslim unity of faith.

The population of just over a million in Chechnya is predominantly Muslim. For the political scientist Miriam Katharina Hess, who researches extremism in Europe’s Chechen community at the German Council on Foreign Relations (GDAP), one motive behind Kadyrov’s staging is obvious: there is also a certain type of opposition in Chechnya that is completely suppressed become. “But since some of those who normally suppress these protests are now fighting in Ukraine, Kadyrov needs even more domestic political support. One tries to create that through religion.”

“Fight for the Koran”

In some videos, Kadyrov shows himself with the Chechen Grand Mufti Salah Mirsayev. According to the “Kavkazr” portal, which belongs to the Czech “Radio Free Europe”, he had already religiously justified the participation of the Chechens in the war in Ukraine at the end of February – even though the war with Putin is being led by a Christian.

The Mufti explains that the companions of the Prophet Mohammed fought alongside an Ethiopian army and under the command of a Christian in the seventh century. In short, the Muslims in Ukraine fought for the Koran and for the Prophet. Whoever dies there, do so as a martyr.

Signal to Chechens in Western Europe?

Hess suspects another motive in Kadyrov’s propaganda: he wants to challenge his political opponents in the diaspora. In recent years, many Chechens of Muslim faith have left the repressive Kadyrov regime for Western Europe. In Germany alone there are said to be 50,000 Chechens. Some of them lean toward radical Islam, some sympathize with the terrorist militia IS. “These people now see that the combat operations of the pro-Kadyrov fighters in Ukraine are charged like the combat operations of the IS, for example, and that is of course a kind of provocation,” says Hess.

Other opponents of Kadyrov would be annoyed that he was abusing religion. According to Hess, there are reactions, for example in Austria, that Chechens are considering traveling to Ukraine to fight Kadyrov’s soldiers. It is said that the first departures have already taken place. She fears that this could play into Kadyrov’s hands: “The Chechen regime sees people in the political opposition as extremists and terrorists. If they leave Germany or Austria, then Kadyrov will have a new narrative that he can use to create his own engagement in war.”

Kadyrov propaganda in Arabic

For a week now, Kadyrov has also been targeting an Arabic-speaking audience with a specially founded Telegram channel. There he describes himself as a “servant of the holy Koran”. He is clearly trying to do the balancing act between irreligious war propaganda, declarations of loyalty to Putin and the staging of the role as a fighter for Islam. He recently posted what appeared to be a thank you letter from a follower praising Kadyrov for bringing back the “spirit of true jihad.”

Political scientist Hess believes that Kadyrov wants to use the Ukraine war to become more visible where Islam is widespread, even if he is sometimes resented in the Arab world. According to the “Al-Monitor” portal, leading Islamist rebel groups in northwestern Syria have already sharply criticized Kadyrov’s involvement in the war in Ukraine. After all, he supports the Russian ruler Putin in the war in Syria and thus the killing of many Muslims.

Not a “flawless Muslim”

The fact that Kadyrov used the hymn “Take our blood” for the aforementioned “Nasheed” could also cause irritation. According to experts, it originally came from the Islamist terrorist organization “Ahrar As-Sham” – that is, of all things, from a group that is fighting the Assad regime and its ally Putin in Syria.

Expert Hess does not rule out that the Chechen ruler simply used the “Nasheed” out of ignorance: “Kadyrov is certainly not a flawless Muslim.” Everything he does, whether it fits into this religious narrative or not, serves the goal of strengthening his own power apparatus through propaganda.