Vladimir Putin is facing a potentially serious outbreak of inter-ethnic violence, after a former Chechen and Ingush politician was seriously wounded by a gunman at his home just outside Moscow.
Sherip Alikhadzhiev, an aide to Russian State Duma Deputy Vladimir Shamanov, was rushed to hospital with two bullet wounds and is recovering in intensive care.
Russia‘s Investigative Committee said the gunman fired at least four times at the victim’s house in the village of Lapino near Odintsovo, before fleeing the scene.
Mr Alikhadzhiev is an ethnic Chechen, who formerly held government posts in Chechnya and Ingushetia.
He was a close ally of Akhmad Kadyrov, the father of Chechnya’s current head, Ramzan Kadyrov, during the Second Chechen War.
Following Akhmad Kadyrov’s death in 2004, Alikhadzhiev worked for the government of neighbouring Ingushetia.
Investigators fear the shooting is part of a surge in inter-ethnic tensions between Chechens and the Ingush, following a violent raid on the Moscow headquarters of Russia’s biggest online retailer Wildberries in September.
During the Chechen-led raid, two Ingush security guards were killed.
Chechnya’s brutal leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, has accused three politicians – two from Dagestan and one from Ingushetia – of seizing Wildberries from the estranged wife of Vladislav Bakalchuk.
He has vowed to help Bakalchuk get his wife back and to block the merger of their e-commerce giant with the advertising group Russ, which was approved by Putin.
Kadyrov declared a blood feud on the three politicians on Thursday, sparking fears that the inter-ethnic conflict is spiralling out of control and could lead to war in the North Caucasus.
Anton Gerashchenko, a former advisor to Ukraine‘s Internal Affairs minister, suggested Putin might be forced to intervene to bring the situation back under control.
He wrote on X: “Putin, as a true tsar and authoritarian leader, must now act as the judge in this case of ‘blood feud’.
“Kadyrov’s statement about blood feuds is an attempt to indirectly contrast Putin’s power with ‘traditional ways’.”
Mr Gerashchenko continued: “Putin is now well aware that everyone is waiting for his reaction. Everyone knows Putin’s style of stalling for time before deciding anything.”
The commentator recalled Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former ally of Putin who died two months after launching an attempted coup against Russian defence leaders in June 2023.
He said: “Remember Prigozhin? Putin, having given his word not to kill, then went ahead and killed Prigozhin. For now, Putin needs Kadyrov. But right after Prigozhin’s murder, I wrote that Kadyrov could be next.”
At the time of the plane crash that killed Prigozhin and other senior leaders of his mercenary militia, Wagner Group, the Kremlin denied any involvement in the incident.
Mr Gerashchenko also claimed that Russian security services were increasingly fighting amongst themselves, resulting in Russia “becoming more and more unstable”.