Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has attacked the famous Russian singer Alla Pugacheva, calling her an "enemy of the people". The reason is her recent interview in which she spoke positively about one of the leaders of the separatists in Chechnya in the 1990s - Dzhokhar Dudayev, reports "Meduza".
"Dudaev's ambitions as a general, his posturing and indifference to the real problems of the Chechen people led to banditry and complete financial collapse," Kadyrov wrote on his Telegram channel.
According to him, "enemies of the people and traitors like Pugacheva" should not "recklessly speculate on the most difficult period in Chechen history".
Dzhokhar Dudayev was the first president of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, a major general in the USSR Air Force and the only general in the Soviet Army of Chechen origin. In the 90s, he led the Chechen independence movement and was one of the most influential figures in the country until his death in 1996, when he was assassinated.
The topic was raised during an interview that 76-year-old Pugacheva gave to journalist Katerina Gordeeva. During the conversation, which lasted about three hours and was published on YouTube, she stated that she knew Dzhokhar Dudayev personally. According to her, he was "honest, respected, cultured and attractive person".
"And his wife! "An artist, a writer, a politician... She often called me, thinking that I could help. But what could I do? Nothing. Even now I am ashamed to convey my greetings to her. Alla Fyodorovna, if you see this interview, I beg your forgiveness that I could not do anything to keep Dzhokhar alive," Pugacheva added.
Her statements also sparked a lawsuit for 1.5 billion rubles (over $18 million) in Chechnya. The case was filed by lawyer Alexander Treshchev, a regular guest on Russian state television.
Alla Pugacheva currently lives outside Russia, having left the country at the very beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.