Photo Gallery The Long Reach of a Chechen Strongman
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov holding a golden Makarov pistol in 2007. Austrian investigators investigating the 2009 shooting of Chechen asylum seeker outside of a Viennese supermarket suspect that he may ultimately be responsible.
A police sketch of the suspected murderer of Umar Israilov, considered an important witness able to implicate Kadyrov in other assassinations, released shortly after the killing. Israilov had repeatedly asked Viennese police for protection, but it was never granted.
Fingers have been pointed at Kadyrov in the past. He has been blamed for the murder of the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006.
He is also said to be behind the 2005 slaying of Chechen commander Suliman Yamadayev in Dubai.
Finally, some have accused Kadyrov of having orchestrated the murder of Chechen journalist Natalya Estemirova in 2007.
