Reports from Russia claim that the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has buried his family doctor alive after discovering he had been poisoning him. Kadyrov’s health has reportedly been unstable and there is even speculation in Russia that he is terminally ill.
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The Chechen warlord is rumoured to have blamed Elkhan Suleymanov - who acted as a personal doctor for the Kadyrov family - for his failing health. Suleymanov, a medic who served as health minister and deputy premier of Chechnya, posted on his Instagram in 2022. He had 55,000 followers, and at one point posted almost-daily updates, but this is the last they ever heard from him. Some believe Kadyrov took his revenge by burying the medic alive, reports the Daily Mail.
A Telegram channel claims that Kadyrov had his doctor buried
There was a time when Suleymanov and Kadyrov appeared close: there are photos posted online that suggest the pair got along well. They have their arms around each other and are seen in various settings; not only at official events but also in the countryside. It is said that the Chechen leader believed Suleymanov had saved his mother.
However, the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel - that is said to have inside links to Russian law enforcement - has now claimed that Kadyrov blamed the 46-year-old medic for his health issues and accused Suleymanov of poisoning him.
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Kadyrov’s symptoms
Kadyrov is often seen as bloated in photos; there have been reports that the leader is struggling with his kidney health. He became convinced that Suleymanov was responsible for his weakening health after having received unknown injections from the medic, the Telegram channel reported:
No-one there has seen Suleymanov since October 2022, and there is talk that he was brutally killed and buried alive in the ground… Absolutely everyone says that he is no longer alive and that he died a painful death.
There is no proof that supports these claims, and it is not known where this Telegram channel has sourced its information. However, Suleymanov did disappear overnight, and his ‘resignation’ was suspiciously reported some time later.
As an explanation for this, friends have been told that the medic left with his family for Baku, where he is involved in scientific research, and does not want to deal with publicity.
Kadyrov likely to have taken revenge
Ramzan Kadyrov is known to be a brutal man. He recently made headlines for taking his son to a prison to beat up a teenage inmate who had reportedly burnt a copy of the Quran. He then threatened to bring the war in Ukraine to other European countries where copies of the holy book have been publicly destroyed.
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Sources used:
Daily Mail: Chechen warlord's doctor 'vanishes amid fears he was buried alive after Ramzan Kadryrov blamed him for his health problems'
Newsweek: Chechen Leader Accused of Burying Family Doctor 'Alive' for Poisoning Him