Kadyrov’s Diagnosis Shocks Relatives: ‘Won’t Be The Same’

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov was diagnosed with necrotizing pancreatitis five years ago, and recent developments with his condition left his relatives in a “depressed state”, an independent Russian investigative newspaper reported on Monday.

The reports come amid swirling rumors about the health of the leader of the predominantly Muslim southern Russian republic of Chechnya. The Latvia-based Novaya Gazeta, which was co-founded by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, said Kadyrov was diagnosed with the condition in January 2019, and that a federal-level campaign has been launched to persuade the public that he is in good health.

Necrotizing pancreatitis is an extreme complication of acute pancreatitis—an inflammation of the pancreas—which causes part of the organ to die. Complications can include organ failure and even death.

Last year, rumors circulated that Kadyrov, who has ruled Chechnya since 2007 and is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was suffering from serious kidney problems.

Speculation about the Chechen leader’s health intensified in September when Ukrainian military intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov said Kadyrov had been unwell for a long time with systemic health problems. There were also rumors on social media that Kadyrov was dead or in a coma.

“He has health problems, it’s true…He was really sick but recovered,” GUR head Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov told Ukrainian publication Ukrainska Pravda. “We must also admit this, whether we like it or not.”

Budanov added: “He has kidney problems. There was a threat to his life, but he passed it.”

Citing sources at a hospital and the FSB Directorate in the Chechen Republic, Novaya Gazeta reported that at the time, Kadyrov was hospitalized with acute pulmonary failure. He was hooked up to a ventilator and placed into a medically induced coma.

“Actually, this is where the rumors about the Chechen leader’s coma came from,” the publication reported.

The newspaper said a number of top Russian politicians, including Putin, were involved in a PR campaign to convince the public Kadyrov was well.

Citing a source at the Moscow Central Clinical Hospital, where Kadyrov was hospitalized, the publication said results from an MRI scan of the Chechen leader’s brain “left Kadyrov’s relatives in a depressed state.”

“There won’t be the same leader as before, the [new complications] will seriously affect [him]. Even if he recovers now, he will be neither alive nor dead,” his relatives reportedly said.

Newsweek couldn’t independently verify the reports about Kadyrov’s health and has contacted Russia’s Foreign Ministry for comment via email.

The Kremlin previously declined to comment on Kadyrov’s health, saying that it is not a matter for the Russian president.

Do you have a tip on a world news story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the Russia-Ukraine war? Let us know via worldnews@newsweek.com.