The National Resistance Center has received an interesting document that sheds light on how Russia is trying to hush up the situation with the downing of an Azerbaijani plane by Russian air defense on December 25. It shows the degradation of the Russian regime, its total deceitfulness, and the rapid loss of foreign policy influence. It is also likely that the Russian dictator will not punish his loyal vassal Kadyrov or anyone from the Chechen administration at all, but will instead blame someone very minor.
The so-called head of Chechnya, Kadyrov, has an extensive network of his representatives throughout Russia. The document discussed below was drafted and sent on behalf of the representative of the head of the Chechen republic in the Urals Federal District, Turpal Akhmedovich Ilyasov.
The source who provided the NRC with Ilyasov’s letter received it from the mail of Ilyasov’s son Adam, who also works in this office, is the head of the secretariat and is responsible for media relations.
The document itself is a kind of “talking point” with instructions on what should or should not be commented on. As the text suggests, it reflects the position of Kadyrov and his chief of staff, Galas Taimaskhanov.
In particular, the letter shows how language in Russia is becoming a tool for building a parallel reality. For example, it is suggested to ignore any references to the downing of the plane. Instead, it is recommended to call it a tragic incident – after all, that is what Russian dictator Putin called it in his address.
This is the level of cynicism set forth in the letter:
“we do not comment on the situation surrounding this incident;
If comments are allowed, we should avoid the phrases “downing,” “air defense strike,” etc., and instead use the phrases “unfortunate mistake,” “air incident,” “tragic coincidence,” etc;
We also do not comment on the work of air defense forces and means, especially the deployment of air defense installations around the city of Grozny, which is the prerogative of the Defense Ministry.”
However, the letter goes on to provide interesting details of the backroom intrigues of the Russian ruling elite. For example, it is claimed that Russia will never admit its guilt and this is Putin’s clear position. Therefore, it was just a “tragic accident that occurred in Russian airspace.”
The letter also shows that Putin is dependent on the loyalty of his Chechen vassals and oprichniki. We quote the letter:
“Putin also assured Kadyrov that the Chechen authorities acted in full compliance with the challenges dictated by the situation. The tragedy of the crash can be explained by the incompetence and inability to respond flexibly to emergency situations of air traffic controllers. In this regard, rumors about the search for culprits among the authorities of the Chechen Republic and representatives of law enforcement agencies are groundless and provocative.”
Thus, we can draw several conclusions:
First. Putin’s official apology to President Aliyev was general in nature and demonstrates how dependent Russia is on maintaining relations with both Azerbaijan and its partners in the region. In fact, Putin’s position is too weak to ignore this incident. If earlier, as in the case of the downing of Malaysian flight MH-17, Russia could afford to ignore and hush up the facts for years, overloading the information space with mutually exclusive false versions, in the case of the Baku-Grozny flight, no matter how much Putin wanted to, he had to apologize. Of course, it was a “half-hearted” apology, because Russia still does not want to admit its guilt. That’s why it’s playing “novoyaz” with “tragic incidents.” However, this apology does not suit the Azerbaijani side. The latter demands that the perpetrators be found and brought to justice.
Second. It is worth mentioning here that Hamzat, the secretary of the Chechen Security Council and Kadyrov’s nephew, announced on December 24 on his Instagram that all drones in the skies over Chechnya had been destroyed. He was practically the only official to confirm that Chechnya had been attacked by drones. “The information that the drones hit an object is not true, everything was shot down!” he wrote in a comment to a video of one of the drones being destroyed.
The next day, when it became known that the Azerbaijani plane had been shot down, Kadyrov awarded his nephew the medal “For Merit to the Chechen Republic.” Obviously, this gave rise to theories about the involvement of Kadyrov’s relatives in instructing air traffic controllers to redirect the plane so that it would crash into the sea, thus hiding all evidence of the crime.
It is also worth mentioning here the fact that Chechnya and Kadyrov’s men are a kind of Putin’s bodyguards. Moscow does not touch the Caucasus, and Chechnya has one of the lowest rates of involvement in the Russian occupation army, as well as the level of casualties. Other, more remote regions (such as Bashkiria or Tatarstan) suffer disproportionately higher human losses.
So, in this situation, when Putin is tied to the loyalty of the Caucasus but needs to find those responsible for the downing of the plane, he will most likely choose the traditional option of scapegoating. And the letter makes it clear that it will be the air traffic controllers, not the Chechen administration. Therefore, Kadyrov’s nephew can receive a dozen more orders named after Kadyrov and not worry about the consequences.
This directive sent by Turpalov clearly shows the rapid degradation of the Russian Federation. After all, a regime built on lies and crimes cannot give the world anything but the suffering of innocent people.
