Kadyrov’s son, Adam, is 13 years old.
Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov has vowed to leave his post as Head of the Chechen Republic if dissident blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov defeated his 13-year-old son Adam in a fight.
Kadyrov initiated the bet when he and his family were recording a video blog while out picking strawberries. During the live broadcast, he referenced Abdurakhmanov, claiming that the blogger once called his son a “bag,” a reference to the 13-year-old’s weight.
“Wouldn’t you be afraid to fight him?” Kadyrov asked his son, who replied that he would be interested in fighting the adult. Kadyrov then vowed to leave his post if the blogger defeated his son.
“The challenge has been extended,” Kadyrov said on the broadcast, which was first reported by Readovka through their Telegram channel.
Abdurakhmanov is a popular Chechen blogger and critic who is currently living in exile after fleeing the region in 2015. The Chechen Human Rights Association revealed that Magomed Daudov—one of Kadyrov’s closest henchmen who goes by the nom-de-guerre “Lord”—declared a blood feud on the blogger, which put his life in immediate danger.
Last year, Abdurakhmanov revealed that he had survived an attempt on his life. The blogger reportedly fought off the assailant who was armed with a hammer, eventually managing to disarm him. Abdurakhmanov then neutralized the attacker and called the police. When asked who sent him, the alleged attacker said he came from Moscow and that “they have my mother.”
The attempt on Abdurakhmanov life was the latest in a string of attacks on Chechen exiles over the past year. Two other Chechen dissidents had been murdered since August 2019, including a Chechen blogger who was stabbed repeatedly in the neck in a hotel room in Lillie, France. Another Chechen exile, Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, died after being shot in the head from behind in a Berlin park.
Despite the threats facing him, Abdurakhmanov responded to Kadyrov’s challenge, stating that the Kadyrov clan should first “fight off their excess weight” before challenging him.
“The only competition in which you can beat me is eating cutlets,” Abdurakhmanov added.