Briefs

–KICKBACKS TO KADYROV

Requesting anonymity, several members of the Kadyrov administration’s police have told Timur Aliev of Prague Watchdog that they have to pay substantial kickbacks to Ramzan Kadyrov, head of his father’s private army. Aliev wrote in a March 3 article that such payments are routine practice: “For example, the road patrol service, each of whom earn 14,000 rubles a month, have to fork over 2,000 of it to Ramzan. The method of doing this is very simple–upon receiving their salaries, the policemen simply leave a portion of it at the cash desk.”

–MORE FATALITIES FOR FEDERAL FORCES

Combat operations in Chechnya killed three federal servicemen during a 24-hour period ending on March 9, according to an anonymous official of the Kadyrov administration who spoke with the Associated Press. Seven other federal troops were wounded, including three within Grozny.

–CHECHEN LANGUAGE SUFFERS

The Chechen language is eroding swiftly under the stress of war, according to the director of the Northern Caucasus service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Aslan Doukaev told the Chechen Times in an interview published on March 5 that “on the eve of last year’s constitutional referendum, the pro-Russian administration couldn’t find anyone to translate the ballots. Also, the translation of the draft constitution was so abysmal that the authorities decided not to translate the laws on presidential and parliamentary elections into Chechen at all.”