This is the bizarre moment Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov began performing standing push-ups at a BRICS meeting in an apparent attempt to impress ministers with his strength.
In video footage taken of an informal meeting between Putin and the president of the United Arab Emirates at the BRICS summit, where the Russian leader attempted to court the leaders of around two dozen nations to deepen ties with his country, Kadyrov leaning on two chairs and repeatedly doing inclined push-ups.
After a few push-ups, he was seen looking around in an apparent attempt of approval.
But no one, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was also present, seemed to be giving the bloodthirsty warlord the time of day, leaving him leaning grimly on two chairs.
This is not the first time Kadyrov has been seen desperately trying to prove his strength, amid rumors about his poor health.
Earlier this year, he released a series of clips as he seeks to demonstrate his good health amid reports that he is suffering from a terminal illness.
Kadyrov (pictured, right) was invited to the informal meeting during the BRICS conference.
He was seen leaning on two chairs and doing some push-ups.
Several senior political figures were present, including the president of the United Arab Emirates and the foreign minister of Russia.
Kadyrov was seen looking around waiting for a reaction.
But he stood up sadly when he realized that no one was looking.
The head of the Chechen Republic posted videos of himself in a gym along with his acolytes.
He was shown in the gym with his closest cronies, but the camera angles appeared to hide his swollen abdomen, and it was unclear when the clip was filmed.
A comment on opposition channel Gulagu read: ‘Who did Ramzan decide to film this for and why did he think there were so many idiots out there?
“It only takes a minute for any amateur athlete, let alone a professional, to understand Kadyrov’s fitness level; it’s just not good.”
“Push and puff with 7 and 14kg dumbbells, used by girls and aspiring teenagers to warm up,” Gulagu wrote.
“It is obvious that the idea of filming this video failed and its authors made Ramzan a clown and a weakling.”
That same week, he was seen speaking slowly and in a monotone to his top aides, many of them in uniform, in a video released to show he was in control.
Kadyrov was seen this week speaking slowly and in a monotone to his top aides, many of them in uniform, in a video released to show that he was in control.
Another clip showed him presiding over a meeting of his top commanders and officials.
But his incoherent words seemed deeply confused and his subordinates seemed embarrassed when he demanded that all people be armed and ready to defend Russia.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a police officer, an emergency worker, a justice, a judge: every person should own a gun,” he said.
‘You must know that at any time you must go to combat positions to defend the Homeland.
“When the Homeland calls, everyone must monitor our state.”
His disconcerting gibberish continued: ‘There is the Prosecutor’s Office, there is the Investigation Committee, so that they can train their own, so that they can work together with the headquarters.
‘The Supreme Commander-in-Chief (dictator Vladimir Putin), commanders and defense ministers know this headquarters. And they thank us for putting such a system in (Chechnya).
Chechen warlord and key Putin ally Ramzan Kadyrov, 47, in a gym with his top acolytes in a bid to prove he is healthy.
The scenes only deepened suspicions that the 47-year-old autocrat, a key Putin ally and supporter of his war against Ukraine, is seriously ill, as critics said he looked like a “clown or a weakling.”
The head of the Chechen Republic published videos of himself in a gym with his acolytes
‘We support our men who fight for the truth, for religion, for the people, for human values.
“I ask you once again to deal not only with internal Chechen issues, but also with new territories (invaded Ukraine), according to the president’s instructions.”
Kadyrov, a father of at least 14 children and believed to have three wives in a polygamous environment, has lately been bestowing honors on his children, some of whom hold key government positions.
In a wild move in November 2022, he appointed his then 15-year-old son Adam as head of his security service, made up of hundreds of armed officers.
But Putin is rumored to have named as his successor a military commander loyal to Kadyrov: Major General Apti Alaudinov, 50.
Kadyrov is one of Vladimir Putin’s closest allies and has provided tens of thousands of troops for his illegal war in Ukraine.