October 30, 2023

A Killer Gets Promoted?


A Killer Gets Promoted?
Ramzan Kadyrov and Ruslan Gereemev. Telegram channel of Adam Delimkhanov.

Ruslan Geremeyev, a former Interior Ministry officer suspected of orchestrating the assassination of Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov, has been appointed commander of a new Chechen battalion, Sheikh Mansur. The announcement was made by Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya, on his Telegram channel.

Adam Delimkhanov, a State Duma deputy from Chechnya, extended congratulations to Geremeyev on his appointment, hailing him as a "worthy representative of the team of the first president of the republic, Akhmat Kadyrov [Ramzan's father]." Delimkhanov also commended Geremeyev for his courage in executing assigned tasks.

Boris Nemtsov, a prominent opposition politician, was fatally and mysteriously shot on a Moscow bridge in 2015. During the investigation, several individuals with ties to Chechnya were detained in connection with the murder. Authorities sought to question Ruslan Geremeyev as well, given that his vehicle was observed on the bridge at the time of the assassination, and one of the detained Chechens confessed to receiving assistance from a Chechen native known as "Rusik" (a diminutive form of Ruslan) in planning the murder. Geremeyev was placed on the wanted list, but efforts to serve him a summons were unsuccessful, and he failed to appear in court. Ultimately, Ruslan Mukhudinov, Geremeyev's former driver, was officially designated as the mastermind behind the crime.

However, according to Vadim Prokhorov, the lawyer representing Nemtsov's family, Geremeyev was the actual instigator of the assassination. Prokhorov said that the officer is also closely related to Adam Delimkhanov, Senator from Chechnya Suleiman Geremeyev, and the current assistant to the head of the republic, Vakha Geremeyev.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Geremeyev became involved in combat operations as part of Chechen battalions. Kadyrov shared a video showing Geremeyev in Mariupol.

It is notable that the formation of a new Chechen battalion led by Ruslan Geremeyev has met with a less-than-enthusiastic response even from pro-war and "patriotic" circles. What appears to concern the public even more than the commander's history is the choice of the battalion's name. Sheikh Mansur, an Islamic preacher and leader of the people's liberation movement among North Caucasus mountaineers from 1785 to 1791, was a prominent figure in an anti-Russian resistance.

It is not coincidental that a Chechen unit bearing the same name is actively engaged in Ukraine on the side of the Ukrainians.

You Might Also Like

Show and Shell
  • October 26, 2023

Show and Shell

A convicted murderer and Wagner mercenary was invited to talk to Russian students.
From Saboteurs to Bureaucrats
  • October 25, 2023

From Saboteurs to Bureaucrats

Russian saboteurs who organized explosions in Europe have reportedly transitioned into official roles within Russian regions.
From Trenches to Schools
  • September 18, 2023

From Trenches to Schools

Russian soldiers returned from the war in Ukraine will give new practical courses on security and defense for schoolchildren.
  • June 14, 2023

"Go Defend Your Homeland"

In Chechnya, law enforcement uses threats and blackmail to send LGBT persons, drug users, and "disloyal" citizens to war.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955