Russia: Chechen leader Kadyrov hospitalized in emergency

Milan, Dec. 31 (LaPresse) – The leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, was supposed to take part in a State Council meeting chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin on 25 December. But his plans were thwarted by an emergency hospitalization. This was reported by Novaya Gazeta Europe, whose source said that Kadyrov had travelled to Moscow on 24 December. During the night between 24 and 25 December, however, his health condition deteriorated drastically. The Chechen leader was transported by ambulance to the Central Clinical Hospital of the Administrative Department of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation. A member of his entourage told reporters that Kadyrov “returned home and has not appeared in public since.” According to Novaya Gazeta Europe, Kadyrov’s health has continued to worsen since the beginning of last year, when he was hospitalized at the private Aymedi clinic in Grozny. Kadyrov himself admitted as much in a recent livestream, noting that he had taken four official leaves in a year. This is unusual for him, as he has always said that he never takes breaks from work except for two weeks over New Year. “I suffer from nervous disorders. A constant feeling of tension, as if I were sitting on an electric current,” he said.