Putin’s Kremlin has made great efforts not to display conflicts among the ruling elite. However, the murder of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov last year, and subsequent events, gave the world a rare glimpse into the infamous fighting forces.
To explain the Byzantine nature of the story, need to go back to 1999, when Boris Yeltsin appointed a new Prime Minister Putin, who at that time was unknown to the Russian public.
Shortly after his appointment, Putin declared war on Chechen separatists, and in a relatively short period of time coped with the task. This success made Putin popular, and when, on the eve of New 2000-year Yeltsin announced his resignation, the Russians met their new President a standing ovation and applause.
However, it was easier to win feisty Chechnya than to keep her under his control. To achieve the impossible, Putin appointed a new Governor of the region, the Chechen religious leader, chief mufti Akhmad Kadyrov declared Jihad against Russia back in the mid 1990-ies.
After the assassination of Kadyrov in 2004, he was replaced by flamboyant and young son, Ramzan, who was also a veteran of the Chechen war against Russia (and publicly boasted that he had killed his first Russian at the age of 16 years).
The appointment of the younger Kadyrov has turned Chechnya into his personal fiefdom in exchange for loyalty to Putin, upset many high-ranking Russian officials and security officers who headed the Federal agencies and ministries such as the Ministry of defence; Ministry of interior; Federal security service, or FSB (formerly the KGB); and Federal drug control service (Federal service Russian Federation on control over drug trafficking).
They were all unhappy, and I had several reasons, but the following two were the main. De facto Chechnya became an independent state, which brought the efforts of the security forces in the two Chechen wars. The second generous Federal subsidies to Chechnya (some call them a tribute), which go straight into the hands of Kadyrov, depriving security forces of their share from the trough.
At the same time, Kadyrov received a carte Blanche to eliminate his rivals and critics, as in Chechnya (Russia) and abroad.
For its influence in Russia’s policy as a thorn in the side of Putin, Nemtsov was of minor importance after Kadyrov. However, his death apparently served the interests of Putin.
Nemtsov killed Chechens, most likely, did not expect a thorough investigation and have been very messy, leaving behind fingerprints. However, security officials who had every reason to despise the Pro-Western liberal Boris Nemtsov and to rejoice in his death, quickly revealed the identity of the killer and his assistants who were hiding in Chechnya. It is obvious that the whole thing was staged in order to get rid of Kadyrov, hinting at his involvement in the murder of Nemtsov.
What happened next was the food for wild speculation. First, Colonel-General Sergei Ivanov, head of presidential Administration of the Russian Federation and the leader of the security forces, disappeared from public view for two whole weeks. Following disappeared Putin, who has covered the disease.
Former Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky has even predicted an early political death of the President. However, soon after Putin came to the meeting with the President of Kyrgyzstan. The latter devoted his speech assuring the audience that Putin is in good health. Some time, the President and his head of Administration did not depart from each other.
Rumors of conspiracy against the security forces of Kadyrov came from two sources of the Russian opposition Ilya Yashin and “Novaya Gazeta”, which is a year after the murder of Nemtsov, has published the name of the person who allegedly ordered Kadyrov to kill Nemtsov. It was the former chief bodyguard of Putin and, at the same time, first Deputy Minister of internal Affairs, General Viktor Zolotov.
His Association with Putin goes back to the time when they both worked in St. Petersburg. Zolotov is known for his personal loyalty to the President and security forces is not considered as a true member of their clan.
Prominent Russian opposition leaders immediately noted that Zolotov was intentionally fused into the opposition by the security forces, as part of their ongoing confrontation with Kadyrov and, to some extent, with Putin himself.
In early April, the Russian President announced the creation of a new paramilitary structure of the National guard, composed of 400 thousand military (four times more than the British army). It will combine many of the best units, including OMON and SOBR, formerly under the command of the security forces.
Commander of the National guard appointed Zolotov, who was promoted to General of the army and became a member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. He reports directly to the President, and the task of his Agency is to combat aggressive extremists and organized crime.
The past sounds very ironic, considering the fact that in the 90-ies, Zolotov was the bodyguard of Tsepov, known for his connections with the criminal world of St. Petersburg and whose death is allegedly linked to security forces.
Earlier, Putin appointed Kadyrov, whose presidential term was to expire April 5, 2015, acting President of Chechnya. Most likely it will be re-elected at the regional elections in September.
Security forces tried to use the death of Nemtsov as a tool to get rid of Kadyrov, but all their attempts were in vain, as they lost their influence, which gladly purchased Zolotov, and Kadyrov has confidently kept control of Chechnya. However, they are not completely destroyed. It is still too early to predict what will be their next step, but we can confidently say that the show will be interesting.
Alexey Sobchenko is an independent analyst and a former employee of the U.S. Department of State.
