Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov has called Chechens who fled to Europe and criticise the republic’s authorities ‘despicable traitors’. He accused them of trying to tarnish their own people and warned that ‘there is no way back’ for them. ‘Only contempt is reserved for those despicable traitors who once fled to Europe. Sitting on handouts from others and living off foreign money, they try to tarnish their own people from abroad, spread filthy rumours, and undermine the peace and order for which thousands of the finest and most worthy sons of the Chechen people gave their lives’, Kadyrov wrote on Telegram on Friday evening. He called those who had left ‘pseudo-patriots’ who had ‘cut themselves off from their roots’ and were ‘absolutely unwanted’ in Chechnya. According to Kadyrov, there is no place on Chechen soil for those who have betrayed the memory of those who died for the republic. ‘These pseudo-patriots have no way back. They have sold their honour and dignity, cut themselves off from their roots, and are absolutely unwanted here. Chechen land has always been, and will always remain, a stronghold of courage, honour, and fidelity to the traditions of our ancestors, and there is no place on it for those who have betrayed the memory of our heroes’, Kadyrov added. Kadyrov published the text alongside a video showing him picking pomegranates, walking through Grozny with associates, and singing a Chechen song. In a subsequent post, he published a poem entitled ‘To the Enemies… ’, which said that its targets would be brought to trial under escort. Kadyrov confirms death in shootout after opposition movement claims unrest in Chechnya The shootout was the first armed incident in Chechnya officially confirmed by authorities in more than a year. OC Media Elizaveta Chukharova Kadyrov did not explain what prompted the posts. However, several days earlier, security forces shot dead a man who, according to official reports, had put up armed resistance at a checkpoint in Chernorechye and had been planning terrorist attacks with an accomplice. Security forces conducted mass raids across the republic while searching for other possible accomplices, the opposition Chechen movement NIYSO reported. Authorities haven’t commented on any further unrest. Kadyrov has repeatedly threatened Chechens living abroad who criticise developments in Chechnya. In June 2016, he said the authorities knew who was publishing critical posts online and where they were posting from. Addressing émigrés, he warned that sooner or later they would have to return home and answer for their words. In August 2020, Kadyrov announced the creation of a national agency to help Chechens living abroad. At the same time, he divided them into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Chechens and warned critics to ‘watch their language’. In September 2020, after publicly supporting the opposition Chechen Telegram channel 1ADAT, relatives of Akhmed Zakaev were detained by security forces. Zakaev lives in the UK and heads the government of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in exile. Pro-government Chechen media later published a video in which Zakaev’s relatives condemned him. The politician linked the incident to his support for opposition activists, while Chechen authorities said his relatives had acted voluntarily. However, Kadyrov has not always opposed the return of émigrés. In 2021, he allowed Rubati Mitsaeva, who had previously supported Zakaev, to return. She subsequently appeared in several videos produced by Chechen authorities. In 2023, blogger Hussein Dzhambetov returned to the republic. He had previously criticised Kadyrov and said he had joined a Chechen unit fighting on Ukraine’s side in the war. After meeting him, Kadyrov said Dzhambetov had realised his mistakes. Dzhambetov later threatened people who criticised the Chechen authorities. Leaving Chechnya does not necessarily put an end to pressure on government critics. Kadyrov and his subordinates have been known to threaten, detain and abduct relatives who remain in the republic. In September 2026, Mariana Katzarova, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Russia, presented a report on transnational repression by Russian authorities. The document devotes particular attention to the persecution of the Chechen diaspora. According to the rapporteur, Chechen authorities, with the assistance of federal structures, use surveillance, intimidation, and pressure on relatives to target people who oppose the republic’s leadership from abroad. The practices described in the report include threats against the family members of émigrés, confiscation of property, detentions, and abductions. Katzarova also highlighted cases of Chechens being persecuted after fleeing threats of violence, domestic abuse, or forced marriage.