Kadyrov’s title “Mekhkan Da” reminds of personality cult of Stalin

The term of “Mekhkan Da”, literally translated from the Chechen language as “father of the people,” was not earlier used in the Chechen society. An attempt to introduce it is connected with Ramzan Kadyrov’s leadership style, which inherits the Stalinist model, analysts point out.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that the draft law proposing to supplement the position of the leader of Chechnya with the title of “Mekhkan Da” has been published on the official website of the republic’s parliament.

Earlier, the title of “Mekhkan Da” was not used among the Vainakh people, believes Akhmet Yarlykapov, Senior Researcher at the Centre for Caucasian Studies at the Moscow State Institute of Foreign Relations (known as MGIMO).

Makka Albogachieva, Senior Researcher at the Department of Ethnography of the Caucasus at the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, noted that the title of “father of the country” has recently appeared among the Chechen and the Ingush people to name the heads of the regions.

The term of “Mekhkan Da” is a sign of a “charismatic leader” in the medieval sense, political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin believes. “Charisma was then understood as proof of God’s grace: he is helped from above, so he wins, he is lucky,” the political analyst stated.

According to Dmitry Oreshkin, Stalin’s “charisma” after his death was recognized as a personality cult.

“Ramzan Kadyrov is also going through the same phase. And this is logical, because the political culture he is building needs such an ideological support as the ‘father of the country’ ... After all, the father of the country may not be simply re-elected and removed,” Dmitry Oreshkin explained.

Akhmed Dudaev, Chechen Minister of Press, explained in his Telegram channel the introduction of a new term by concern for the preservation and development of the culture and identity of the Chechen people.

The political analysts interviewed by the “Caucasian Knot” have pointed to the similarity between the models of governance of Ramzan Kadyrov and Joseph Stalin. Alexei Malashenko, an expert on the Caucasus, emphasizes that Ramzan Kadyrov made people think of Joseph Stalin by reporting about his children’s trip to the front.