On 8 March, International Women’s Day, the Akhmad Kadyrov Foundation — named after the late father of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov — hosted and paid for a wedding service for six couples. The Chechen president spoke against the background of six brides dressed in Islamic wedding dresses, and wished all women of the world a happy Women’s Day.

The Foundation, which is led by the president’s mother, Aymani Kadyrova, distributed over 5,000 bouquets of flowers to women on the streets of Chechnya.

Aymani Kadyrova and the president’s wife, Medni Kadyrova, received many well-wishes from supporters of the president. They received lavish bouquets from the Chechen Government, the police, and members of the Chechen Parliament. Their congratulations noted the women’s contributions to society and the fact that they ‘motivate the president of Chechnya for further creative work’.

Sending well-wishes to close relatives of Ramzan Kadyrov has become a tradition in Chechnya. Not doing so is often considered proof of insufficient loyalty to the president.

Also to mark 8 March, seventeen Chechen women — widows and mothers of law enforcement officers killed in armed clashes with militants — were gifted flats in the centre of Grozny.