The Controversial Rise of Chechnya’s Young President Ramzan Kadyrov

The Controversial Rise of Chechnya’s Young President Ramzan Kadyrov

The assembled contestants for the 2007 "Mrs. World" competition, a spin-off of the better-known "Miss World" contest, gathered in late-February in Gudermes, Chechnya, where they were feted by the republic's guileful young President, Ramzan Kadyrov. Staged as part of an ongoing attempt by the Kremlin, and its proxy regime in Chechyna, headed by Kadyrov, to showcase the supposed "normalization" of Chechen society after 15 years of turmoil, the whole affair made for a quite an absurd spectacle.

The collection of beauties, dubbed the "world's most beautiful married women," made quite an impression on President Kadyrov. As Chechnya's acting president -- he was officially confirmed to the post on March 2 -- Kadyrov was apparently especially taken with "Mrs. Kenya," Caroline Verkaik. In apparent jest, he issued a marriage proposal to Mrs. Verkaik.

Or could it have been, given Kadyrov's well-known pro-polygamy sentiments, that the president was quite serious? In any case, Mrs. Verkaik quite ably deflected her rambunctious suitor. As the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported: "Aware of the Chechen marriage custom of redeeming the bride, the Kenyan lady asked for money for redemption. Ramzan Kadyrov went away but soon appeared with two horses, a white goat and a couple of hens. Mrs. Verkaik was so surprised that she hugged the president and promised to be back next year."

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.