The search for the Ingush boy was used by Chechen authorities for PR.
Chechnya's authorities reported the prayers of Kadyrov's sons for the successful outcome of the search for an 8-year-old boy in Ingushetia, as well as the participation of Chechen security forces and officials in the search.
On June 15, at 12:30 PM, the duty shift of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia for the Republic of Ingushetia received a report that an 8-year-old child had gone missing in the Sunzha River in the city of Karabulak. A large-scale search was organized in the republic. The search is being conducted using human chains along the bottom of reservoirs, the Ministry of Emergency Situations for Ingushetia reported.
On June 18, the head of the republic Makhmud-Ali Kalimatov reported on his Telegram channel that 4,000 people were participating in the search. Volunteers from Chechnya, Dagestan, North Ossetia, and Kabardino-Balkaria came to the rescue, the head of the republic reported.
Later, reports began to emerge of security forces and officials from Chechnya participating in the search.
For example, Zamid Chalayev, along with personnel from the Akhmat Kadyrov Special Police Regiment, arrived in Ingushetia to assist with search and rescue operations.
"From the first hours after their arrival, the special regiment's fighters actively participated in the search operation. The coastal zone is being surveyed and a significant portion of the riverbed is being combed. To increase effectiveness, the unit's significant forces and resources are being deployed." "A platoon of unmanned aerial vehicles from a special regiment is operating in the area," the press service of the unit reported, according to the Chechnya Today news agency.
Along with Chalayev, Sharip Delimkhanov, head of the Russian National Guard Directorate for the Chechen Republic, also traveled to the situation headquarters in Ingushetia, reports the Grozny State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company.
The Chechnya Today website reported that personnel from the republic's Ministry of Emergency Situations are also involved in the search and rescue operation, and that the head of the department, Alikhan Tsakayev, traveled to Ingushetia. In the video attached to the publication, Tsakayev is seen taking reports, strolls along the shore, and examines a map at headquarters.
The head of Chechnya, reporting on the lesser hajj of his sons and confidants, said that Akhmat, Ali, and Adam "asked Almighty Allah to protect the boy, help find him, and grant patience and strength to his family and friends, as well as to all those participating in the search operation."
The Grozny Inform website reported that "Human Rights Commissioner for the Chechen Republic, Mansur Soltayev, together with his colleague, Human Rights Commissioner for the Republic of Ingushetia, Ibrahim Tsechoyev — took part in search and rescue operations." Attached to the post are videos showing Soltayev exploring the river bottom with other men.
Chechnya's authorities are using the boy's search for PR
A "Caucasian Knot" reader cited the opinion of an acquaintance who, along with his friends, has been helping search for the missing boy for several days. The participant in the rescue operation believes that the Chechen leadership is "meddling" in high-profile stories "for publicity."
"Thousands of volunteers from Ingushetia, Chechnya, Dagestan, the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Stavropol, and other regions have been searching for the child for several days, while "Kadyrov's superiors come to pose for the cameras, point at maps, give their subordinates valuable instructions, and then go back," - a reader of the "Caucasian Knot" with the nickname maria.lesch cited the opinion of his acquaintance.
Last year, when thousands of volunteers from the republic and neighboring regions were searching for a boy who drowned in the Terek River in Chechnya, Kadyrov's son Adam arrived at the scene a few days after the tragedy, also walked along the riverbank in front of cameras, said something, and drove back, the author of the comment recalled.
As "Caucasian Knot" wrote, the body of a seven-year-old boy who went missing in Chechnya, for whom the search had been ongoing since August 8, was found in the river on August 13. Volunteers from Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, Stavropol, and Ingushetia assisted rescuers and security forces in the search. Adam Kadyrov presented aid to the family of the boy, whose body was found six days later in Chechnya, in front of cameras, and the Kadyrov Foundation was repeatedly mentioned in the context of providing aid.