Chechnya’s strongman and his family have amassed 150 awards and decorations since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and 29 close relatives have collected 146 awards and decorations since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, according to a count by the outlet Verstka based on Chechen government statements and media reports. Since February 2022, Kadyrov alone received 31 medals — roughly one every 40 days. His son Adam, widely viewed as a potential successor, has 16 awards, half clustered in October and November 2023 after he assaulted a detainee in a Grozny pretrial facility. His daughter Aishat has received 10 since February 2022.
The lion’s share of the Kadyrovs’ decorations — 82 — are state and primarily internal Chechen awards; 30 came from ministries and agencies, mostly security bodies like the National Guard, the Interior Ministry, and the Federal Penitentiary Service. The family also received awards from Russian-installed administrations in occupied parts of Ukraine and from authorities in Libya and the breakaway region of South Ossetia.
The pace and visibility of these awards have become a running joke online, especially in Adam Kadyrov’s case. Reporters have documented how Chechen officials lobby for the family’s decorations: in October 2023, representatives of Kadyrov’s administration asked Kabardino-Balkaria and Adygea to honor Adam (“the higher the medal, the better”). Officials initially declined, but Adam received Kabardino-Balkaria’s highest award a month later.
