Chechen special forces commander sits down with Russian neo-Nazi paramilitary leader for friendly chat to smooth over ethnic tensions

Apti Alaudinov, the commander of the “Akhmat” Chechen special forces unit, and Alexey “Serb” Milchakov, the neo-Nazi leader of the “Rusich” paramilitary assault group, have appeared together in a new video in an attempt to smooth over frictions in Russia’s armed forces that have recently boiled along ethnic lines. 

In a post on his Telegram channel, Alaudinov argued that Milchakov’s brand of Russian nationalism is an acceptable form of patriotism founded on "returning to our ancestral roots.” Milchakov added that the meeting was voluntary. “Let no one think that anyone here was intimidated by anyone else or that anyone submitted to anyone under pressure,” he assured viewers. In a separate post, Milchakov lashed out at critics of his meeting with the Chechen soldier, insisting on his right to accept any “outstretched hand of friendship.” “We will win because we embrace internationalism,” added his deputy, known by the call sign “Medved” (“Bear”).

In April 2024, the authors behind Rusich’s main Telegram channel denounced former Wagner Group commander Alexander Kuznetsov for joining the Akhmat special forces unit. Months earlier, Milchakov complained that one of his Rusich fighters defected to Ukraine after witnessing the large presence of Chechen and other North Caucasian soldiers in eastern Ukraine.

After Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region, Apti Alaudinov became one of the Russia Defense Ministry’s most visible public figures, commenting on the fighting and sparring with Z-bloggers who savaged the performance of Chechen fighters at the border. Since October 2024, as noted by journalists at Agentstvo Media, Russia’s state media has stopped citing Alaudinov and featuring him on national news broadcasts.