How Chechnya’s strongman leader is using the World Cup to strengthen his hand in the Muslim world
Ramzan Kadyrov, who invited the Egyptian national soccer team to train in Chechnya, is Russia’s point man in a bid to expand influence in the Middle East
There was a two-humped camel. Fireworks. A 3-D laser light show and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi.
That was how Russia’s Chechnya region opened a grand, sand-coloured hotel this month in its capital, Grozny. Styled like an Arabian marketplace, the luxurious piece of real estate is the first in the predominantly Muslim republic to be built with foreign funding. And, like other upcoming ventures, the money came from the Arab world.
In early June, the hotel will receive its maiden visitors, Egypt’s national soccer team, which is training in Chechnya for the World Cup. While no matches will be played in the region, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s invitation, and the acceptance by the Egyptian team, are significant, coming as the strongman intensifies his ambitions in the Middle East.
Culturally, Chechen officials say, it makes sense for Egypt to have a base camp in the small region in the Russian North Caucasus: It will be near mosques, halal food and a cadre of local government staff who have learned Arabic abroad.
“They are Muslims, we are Muslims. We’re both Sunni,” said information minister Jambulat Umarov, as preparations across the city were underway for the start of Ramadan. Referring to Egypt’s star player, who is known for diving to the pitch in prayer after each goal, Umarov said, “I think Mohamed Saleh will be happy.”
On a recent visit to the hotel, owned by a company based in Abu Dhabi and a stone’s throw from the Akhmat Arena stadium, where Egypt’s players will practise, plastic film was being peeled from the carpets and a final chandelier fitted in its altitudinous foyer.
Now, he is emerging as the face of Russia’s large minority of 20 million Muslims.