The murder of Skrepetsky after a caricature of the Kadyrov family has prompted speculation about a Chechen connection.

The works of Robert Kuzovkov (Semyon Skrepetsky), an artist murdered in Poland, are virtually unknown in Chechnya, but the republic's authorities may have perceived them as offensive and used his murder as a message to other Kadyrov critics in Europe.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on June 16 it became known that Russian artist Robert Kuzovkov, known by the pseudonym Semyon Skrepetsky, who drew caricatures of Ramzan Kadyrov and Vladimir Putin, was shot dead by unknown assailants in the Polish city of Biala Podlaska. The death of artist Robert Kuzovkov has only heightened interest in his work and given new resonance to the themes he addressed, social media users have noted, commenting on the murder of the artist who painted cartoons of Kadyrov. Those familiar with the artist Robert Kuzovkov (Semyon Skrepetsky), who was murdered in Poland, are certain the murder was politically motivated; the prosecutor's office has announced several theories, but has not disclosed them. The artist harshly ridiculed not only the authorities of Russia, Belarus, and Chechnya, but also Ukraine and the Russian opposition in his paintings and publications.

Chechnya native Magomed Avdorkhanov, who lives in Europe, was not familiar with the activities of the cartoonist Skrepetsky.

"I learned about this cartoonist and that he draws caricatures of Kadyrov after his death. I don't think he was known among the population of Chechnya. Perhaps some people knew about him, but given what he draws, it was dangerous for the residents of Chechnya to observe him and his activities. My circle of friends here and my relatives in Chechnya certainly didn't know about him before this event," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Kadyrov and his entourage don't forgive such things.

He doesn't rule out the possibility that Ramzan Kadyrov's entourage was behind the cartoonist's murder.

"Kadyrov and his entourage don't forgive such things, and I don't rule out a direct connection. If he drew cartoons of Putin, Kadyrov, and Alaudinov, then that's a serious reason to believe the order came from somewhere in Chechnya. Besides, I read that he was shot with the same bullets as Khangoshvili in Berlin. Anything is possible," he speculated.

According to Avdorkhanov, this is a message for everyone who criticizes Kadyrov.

"They say, look, we are monitoring everyone who criticizes us, and we will punish everyone, even in Europe," he noted.

Chechen blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov* does not consider the cartoonist well-known in the republic.

"As for the murdered artist, I can't say he was particularly well-known among Chechens. I came across some of his critical videos about Kadyrov, but nothing more," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The blogger wouldn't be surprised if a Chechen connection is found in the artist's murder.

"As far as I understand, the Polish prosecutor's office hasn't officially announced Kadyrov's involvement in the murder yet, but if such a connection is announced in the future, it wouldn't surprise me. Kuzovkov's activities could well have been the reason for the murder in Kadyrov's interests," he noted.

The most categorical opponent of Ramzan Kadyrov might find such cartoons offensive, as they mock certain common features of Chechen culture.

The head of the Civic Assistance Committee*, Svetlana Gannushkina*, also hasn't heard of the cartoonist.

"I don't know anything about this artist or how he is perceived by various groups in Chechnya. "But I can imagine that even Ramzan Kadyrov's most categorical opponent might find such cartoons offensive, as they mock certain common features of Chechen culture. In my opinion, such mockery is unacceptable," she told the Caucasian Knot.

However, she does not rule out the possibility that representatives of Chechnya were behind the murder.

"Unfortunately, such a response cannot be ruled out. And no cartoons justify murder. What is the basis for reprisals against a person for pictures and words? Quran, Surah "The Table," 5:32: "Whoever kills a soul for anything other than a soul or a crime is as if he had murdered all mankind." "Isn't this enough to appreciate this terrible crime?" she noted.

As a reminder, the artist used the image of a pig in his caricatures of the Kadyrov family. "Pigs are considered unclean in Islam. The Koran strictly prohibits pork consumption, and contact with them requires ritual purification," HSE Professor Leonid Syukiyainen, a specialist in comparative law and Islamic law, previously told the "Caucasian Knot."

Skrepetsky published caricatures of the Kadyrov family, and when Adam Kadyrov threatened to bring Zelensky to Grozny. So, then he published a work in which a smiling man with a chest covered in medals is transporting a man resembling the president of Ukraine on a pig.

On January 7, 2026, Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the United States to increase pressure on Russia by kidnapping Ramzan Kadyrov, just as they had kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Kadyrov responded by claiming that Zelenskyy wanted to achieve his goals through others. ¹On January 8, 2026, Adam Kadyrov promised that Zelenskyy's offer "will not go unanswered." His statement, addressed to Zelenskyy, was circulated in Chechen media. "If Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin or my father say the word, we will find you anywhere, and it's only a matter of time. We won't announce any operations. We'll simply come and pick you up... And we'll bring you here to Grozny. Not as president, but as a war criminal," he declared, adding that he would "weep and howl, kiss boots, and beg for forgiveness." He also published his statement on his Instagram page*. Social media users pointed out that the threat from the Chechen leader's son cannot be taken seriously, and the offensive rhetoric is humiliating for Adam Kadyrov himself.

The Chechen authorities have been persecuting their critics abroad for many years.

Critics of the Chechen authorities have long been persecuted, including abroad. For example, in early 2020, the body of Imran Aliyev, a Chechen native and blogger known as Mansur the Old, was found with stab wounds in a hotel in the French city of Lille. Aliyev was killed by a resident of Chechnya's Gudermes district, who works for a high-ranking Chechen official, Chechen blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov (listed as a foreign agent) later claimed. According to him, the suspected killer spent a week with Imran Aliyev in Belgium, after which he traveled with him to Lille. At the hotel, a man "put Imran to sleep by slipping him a sleeping pill, then killed him."

In July 2020, bloggers from the Chechen diaspora who criticized the Kadyrov regime reported receiving regular threats. They reported this after the murder of Chechen native Mamikhan Umarov, known as "Anzor from Vienna," in Austria.

In September 2020, a video of a naked Chechen native, Salman Tepsurkayev, sitting on a bottle, causing widespread controversy, explaining that he was doing this as punishment for collaborating with a Telegram channel critical of the Chechen authorities.

Tepsurkayev himself stated that he had insulted Chechens. security forces in publications. "I said that other people's mothers <...>, other people's daughters <...>, other people's wives <...>. I said very inappropriate things there. "He cursed all Chechen police officers and government officials," a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent previously translated Tepsurkaev's words.

Tepsurkaev's relatives believe that after his abduction in Gelendzhik, he was taken to the security forces' headquarters in Grozny. Tepsurkaev was killed back in September 2020 and buried in an unmarked grave, as his relatives were told to "bury him like a dog," an opposition Chechen Telegram channel noted on August 24, 2022.

"Caucasian Knot" compiled stories of the elimination of Ramzan Kadyrov's opponents in the EU in the report "Murders of Kadyrov's Critics in the EU.

* are included in the register of foreign agents.

** The activities of Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) are banned in Russia.

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