VOA常速英语:Putin’s Chechnya Strongman Tightens Grip as Future Stability in Question(翻译)

More a celebration than an exercise in democracy as Chechen voters for the first time elected strongman Ramzan Kadyrov.

The landslide win was predictable as Kadyrov has ruled Chechnya for a decade, appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, with almost total control.

“Everyone will vote unanimously, because they are voting not just for someone’s seat in the Duma,not just for someone’s seat in state bodies. They are voting for their future”.

Kadyrov is seen by supporters as bringing peace and development, after two failed wars for independence,while critics say he has become a cult of personality.

“All the environment around us speaks for itself.I think, I even know and I am sure, that this is the bright blue sky, that is thanks to Ramzan Kadyrov!”

A rebel like his father, they switched sides to join Putin,who spent billions to rebuild Chechnya and prop up Kadyrov,who in return cracked down on militants and critics.

Political parties that oppose to Kadyrov did no even campaign in Chechnya out of fear their supporters would be persecuted.

“We keep working in the regions.What motivates this? This is our Republic!We were born here. We can’t be indifferent to what is happening”.

While the election lends Kadyrov a veil of legitimacy,critics say he runs the republic as his own kingdom, ignoring federal laws.

“Well, he established peace.So, that’s fact.So, that’s no doubt.He paid, not he himself, but society, Chechen society, they paid a huge price for this stability.”

Chechnya’s stability will one day be tested, say analysts, when Putin is no longer in the Kremlin or Kadyrov is no longer in power.

Officials fear that day could come sooner if the hundreds of Islamist Chechens fighting in Syria try to bring their fight back home.

Daniel Schearf, VOA news, Grozny.