MOSCOW, April 14 /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ramzan Kadyrov, the acting head of the Chechen Republic, and other leaders of Russian regions needed to realize their responsibility for forming their attitude to political opponents.
"I hope that the leader of Chechnya and the heads of other Russian regions will realize the level and degree of responsibility to the people, who reside in their territories, and to Russia on the whole," Putin said at the annual televised Q&A session officially known as "The Direct Line with Vladimir Putin" on Thursday.
"They will come to understand that to act and form their attitude to opponents by using extreme methods does not mean to contribute to stability in this country. On the contrary, it means to damage this stability," Putin said.
"There will be no such remarks when this realization comes," Putin said.
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The president admitted that his own blunders and omissions could have led to Kadyrov’s sharp remarks about his political opponents. The president meant the recently published collage depicting opposition figurehead Mikhail Kasyanov at sniper’s gunpoint.
"Perhaps, it was my own blunder too," the president emphasized.
Putin said there could be no political struggle without rules. He added he had talked to Kadyrov personally about his remarks.
It is necessary to remember that the talk is about the "hot" residents of the Caucasus. "The process of their formation and development into people who are engaged in state work at a high political level was not easy or simple," Putin said recalling that Kadyrov used to fight the federal forces in the forest with arms in hands together with his father.
"But after that, they made a voluntary conclusion that Chechnya should stay with the Russian people. It was a very hard internal transformation, which was really coming from the inside," the Russian head of state said. According to Putin, Ramzan Kadyrov shares these convictions.
"These people are ready to risk everything, including their lives," Putin said. He remembered how Kadyrov once said to him: "Let me die with dignity." "They are ready to do it in the interests of their people," the president stressed.