Popov Claims Still To Support Kadyrov

Another sign that the pro-Kadyrov faction within the Putin administration continues to enjoy the upper hand over the ever-grumbling anti-Kadyrov faction came in the January 30 issue of Nezavisimaya gazeta. Anatoly Popov, recently eased out as the Kadyrov administration’s prime minister, told a correspondent from the newspaper, Sergei Migalin, that he continues to support Kadyrov’s policies. In a lengthy interview, Popov uttered not one phrase that could not have been cleared by the Chechen dictator’s press office. He assured Migalin that “I have many friends in Chechnya, and I will be meeting with Kadyrov again–more than once.”