Kadyrov Calls Russian Political Opposition Enemies of the People

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said opponents of President Vladimir Putin are using Russia’s economic downturn to undermine political stability and should be treated as enemies of the people, a Soviet-era accusation that once could lead to imprisonment or execution.

“Representatives of the so-called non-system opposition are trying to cash in on the complicated economic situation,” Kadyrov told reporters in the republic’s capital Grozny on Jan. 12, according to a statement on his website. “They should be treated as enemies of the people, as traitors. For them, nothing is sacred.”