First drone strike in Chechnya reportedly launched from Dagestan
A drone strike on the Russian special forces university
named after Putin in Chechnya may have originated from Dagestan, sources in the
intelligence services told NV.
“The disputes that took place in Moscow recently, in the
business center and so on, are all interconnected,” the source said.
Earlier, Kremlin-appointed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov
stated that drones attacked the Russian special forces university in Gudermes
on the night of Oct. 29.
According to him, there were allegedly no casualties, and
the fire was extinguished. Russian Telegram channels reported that this was the
first drone attack on Chechen territory.
On Oct. 16, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov recommended
that Kadyrov contact the police if he felt his life was in danger. This
statement followed complaints from the Chechen dictator about an alleged plot
to kill him amid a conflict concerning the Wildberries marketplace, in which
Dagestani senator Suleiman Kerimov is a participant.
Conflict between Kadyrov and Kerimov
Ihar Tyshkevich, a leading expert on Russia from the
Ukrainian Institute for the Future, explained the nature of the conflict
between Kadyrov and Kerimov.
The dispute arose over control of Wildberries, of which 99%
of shares belong to Tatyana Bakalchuk (née Kim), and 1% to her husband
Vladislav Bakalchuk. After they decided to divorce, Tatyana Bakalchuk merged
Wildberries with the advertising company RUSS, controlled by Suleiman Kerimov.
As a result, a new legal entity called RVB was created, with Robert Mirzayan
(director of RUSS) appointed as its director. Kerimov, who initiated the
merger, obtained not only formal approval from antitrust authorities but also
approval from Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
Vladislav Bakalchuk, who claims half of the business,
reached out to Ramzan Kadyrov. Tyshkevich explains this as Kadyrov’s desire to
intervene in the business, especially considering that Tatyana Bakalchuk was
born in Grozny and that Kadyrov “has not only monopolized power in Chechnya but
also claims the role of ‘arbitrator’ in business and other disputes affecting
the interests of Chechens and people from Chechnya.”
Ultimately, Kadyrov’s security personnel engaged in a
shootout near the Wildberries office, killing two guards—Ingushes hired by
Kerimov’s clan.
Tyshkevich explained that it is currently difficult for
Putin to decide which side to support, as he has already approved Kerimov’s
initiative, but publicly humiliating Kadyrov could undermine the agreements
with his clan that were reached during the Second Chechen War.
Meanwhile, Kadyrov accused Kerimov of allegedly plotting to
kill him. Following this, Dagestan head Sergey Melikov publicly supported
Kerimov, highlighting the senator’s “merits” and promising that “Dagestan will
always support him in times of need.”
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