Public humiliation: Chechen leader’s simple strategy to control social media

Aishat Inaeva, a social worker from a small town in Chechnya, did not speak out against the region’s notorious leader, Ramzan Kadyrov. She wouldn’t have dared.

2812323 23.03.2016 Глава Чеченской Республики Рамзан Кадыров выступает на праздновании Дня конституции Чеченской Республики перед Центральной мечетью в Грозном. Саид Царнаев/РИА Новости

Instead, she made a WhatsApp recording, imploring him to look into the plight of ordinary people “pushed below the poverty line” by local officials, a message that went viral among Chechen users of the messaging app.

A week or so later, Inaeva found herself hauled into the studio of Grozny TV, the state television and radio broadcaster, her husband beside her, the republic’s leader in front of her, being forced to apologise publicly for her “lies”.

“You help [the poor] … I was confused, I do not know how and why I did that,” she said to the president, Ramzan Kadyrov, her head bowed. Inaeva’s husband joined in, chastising himself for “allowing her to spread all those lies”.
The 16-minute news segment sent a clear message to Chechnya’s audience: if you’re unhappy with something, keep your mouth shut or prepare to be shamed.

Public humiliation forms part of Kadyrov’s latest strategy to eradicate dissent in the republic. For close to a decade the young leader has been exercising tyrannical rule over Chechnya. A free press no longer exists, and the few journalists from independent Russian and foreign outlets reporting on ongoing abuses inside the republic find themselves at great risk of harassment, arbitrary detentions and even violent attacks by security officials and their proxies.

But the worst punishment is reserved for Chechens themselves. Those who dare to post critical comments online are increasingly being tracked down and penalised.

A recent report by Human Rights Watch described how local authorities retaliate against people who show dissatisfaction with the Chechen leadership and its policies. It found that the onslaught against dissent has intensified over the past 18 months, with even the mildest criticism on social media ruthlessly punished through unlawful, punitive detention, enforced disappearances, cruel and degrading treatment, death threats, threats against family members, and physical abuse of family members.

This severe and sweeping repression by the local authorities is designed to remind the Chechen public of Kadyrov’s total control, and to contain the flow of any negative information from Chechnya that could undermine Russia’s support.

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