NOVO-ORAGRYOVO, November 25. /TASS/. The situation in Chechnya has normalized thanks to the Chechens and Akhmad Kadyrov, the first president of that Russian North Caucasus republic, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

"What happened on Chechen soil, that normalization that took place is first and foremost thanks to the people of Chechnya and to Akhmad-Khadzhi [Kadyrov], who sacrificed his life for his people, who sacrificed his life for that," Putin said at a meeting with mothers of the service members taking part in the special military operation.

Putin described the Chechen capital Grozny as "a flourishing city," recalling that it used to lie in ruins and that even its relocation was discussed.

"I remember Minutka Square. I remember the ruins, like in Stalingrad. We considered moving Chechnya’s capital as many believed that it was impossible to reconstruct it, everything was in ruins," Putin said, adding that now Grozny "is a flourishing and chic city".