RUSSIA: Victory Day parade kicks off celebrations to mark Chechnya's new soccer stadium

Record ID: 449685

  • Title: RUSSIA: Victory Day parade kicks off celebrations to mark Chechnya's new soccer stadium
  • Date: 9th May 2011
  • Summary: MILITARY BAND
  • Embargoed: 24th May 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Russian Federation
  • Country: Russia
  • Topics: International Relations,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA4G4GOCW5OUXYU1NSQNYFPOFYP
  • Story Text: Chechnya marked Victory Day on Monday (May 9) with a military parade in Grozny, the start of three days' celebrations which will culminate in the opening of a new, international-standard soccer stadium later this week.
    Taking part in the parade to mark victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, were Chechen Interior Ministry troops, police and security forces and war veterans.
    Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov awarded medals to veterans and to troops currently serving on active duty in the republic. Chechnya is in one of Russia's most volatile and violent regions, sharing a border with the troubled republics of Dagestan and Ingushetia.
    "Dear members of the parade, I congratulate you on the victory over the facists, I congratulate you on the victory against terrorism. Today we are celebrating victory - it is a day of victory. The 9th of May is the victory of today. We have defended, like our fathers and grandfathers, the nation of the Russian Federation, we defended the people of the Chechen Republic," Kadyrov told the crowd.
    He also paid respects to his father, former leader of Chechnya, Akhmad Kadyrov, who was killed in an explosion during a Victory Day parade on May 9, 2004. Akhmad Kadyrov was a pro-Moscow president of Chechnya, elected in 2003.
    In power since 2007, Ramzan Kadyrov started a new term in office in April, after a unanimous vote in Chechnya's 41-member parliament.
    The Kremlin credits Kadyrov with maintaining a shaky peace and rebuilding Chechnya, devastated by two separatist wars since 1994, and relies on him to keep a growing Islamist insurgency across the North Caucasus in check.
    "Today I am feeling happy about the reconstruction, every day the city of Grozny is changing. Today you see one thing and tomorrow you see something else. It is impossible in such a short time to realise all the building projects and plans for the city of Grozny - there is nothing like this anywhere else in the Russian Federation and there never will be," said World War II veteran Salman Dudaev, attending the parade.
    But critics say Kadyrov rules the republic of 1.1 million as a personal fiefdom and directs campaign of violence against his opponents, claims he has repeatedly dismissed as attempts to blacken his name.
    A Sufi Muslim who favours polygamy and veils for women, some analysts say that in return for quelling rebel attacks, the Kremlin has let Kadyrov usher in his radical vision of Islam, which often contradicts Russia's secular constitution. A 2007 edict that bans bareheaded women from entering state buildings is strictly observed today, as are periodic alcohol bans.
    Kadyrov has said he wants to install Islamic Sharia law in Chechnya, but has also said he abides by Russian law. This confusion has led some analysts to say Chechnya could be heading towards autonomy again.
    A new European-standard stadium is due to be inaugurated in Grozny on Wednesday (May 11) and the Russian Premier League team Terek Grozny will move in, under its new coach Ruud Gullit. Celebrations are expected to include a soccer match for which international soccer stars, reportedly including Argentine footballing legend Diego Maradona, will be flown in to Chechnya.
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