Putin has a Kadyrov problem

Ramzan Kadyrov has opposed the Russian state-approved narrative in a schoolbook about the history of the Caucasus republic he rules, in the latest instance of the Chechen leader posing a potential problem for the Kremlin.

Kadyrov was among leaders and public figures in the North Caucasus who have reportedly been angered by a newly released schoolbook for Russian pupils that says people from nations in the region were deported during World War II because they were Nazi collaborators.

Historians have said that some partisans in the region did support Nazi Germany, but they were few and not influential. Some prominent figures in the Caucasus have condemned the story of the deportations, even though the book does acknowledge the unfairness of the forced exile.