Feared militia leader on road to premiership

MOSCOW - A much feared 29-year-old militia leader, who boasts an 8000-strong private army and keeps a lion and tiger as pets, has emerged as favourite to become Chechnya's next pro-Moscow prime minister after the post unexpectedly became vacant.

Sergey Abramov, the ethnic Russian who held the job previously, resigned, "gifting" the position to Ramzan Kadyrov, whose father, a former President of the troubled region, was murdered in 2004.

Kadyrov jnr's candidacy must be confirmed by the Chechen Parliament and the Chechen President, a move expected to occur later this week. But there are already signs of a behind-the-scenes power struggle.

Influential factions within the pro-Moscow Administration in Grozny, the Chechen capital, are known to be opposed to Kadyrov, and it remains to be seen whether the Kremlin will acquiesce, though his appointment would be consistent with Moscow's stated policy of "Chechenisation", of transferring power from ethnic Russians to loyal Chechens.

Kadyrov, the self-styled hard man of the Caucasus and a boxing fanatic who counts Mike Tyson among his friends, has been tipped to take over his father's mantle for some time and has been made a "Hero of Russia" by President Vladimir Putin.

That Kadyrov is now poised to become the region's premier, putting him a heartbeat away from the Chechen presidency when he turns 30 later this year and becomes eligible for the highest office, will not please human rights groups.

In the past Human Rights Watch and others have alleged that Kadyrov and his militia are directly complicit in torture and kidnap.

- INDEPENDENT