The State Duma deputy recorded a video apologizing to Kadyrov

State Duma deputy from the CPRF Mikhail Matveev recorded a video addressed to the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov and Russian Muslims. He apologized for his words from a television interview with criticism and insults directed at Muslim migrant workers in Russia.

“I want to tell you, Ramzan Akhmatovich, that I, of course, had in mind those terrorists, shaytans, as you call them, with whom you fought in your own republic… If any of my brothers, colleagues, Russian Muslims took it personally, I’m not ashamed to apologize, because I mean those radicals,” Matveev said in a video published on his Telegram channel.

Criticism of Kadyrov was triggered by Matveev’s interview on the YouTube channel of blogger Pavel Ivanov. In it, the deputy called some of the migrants coming to Russia “wild savages” who “aggressively impose” Islamic law on the residents of Russia. According to him, the Russian government “bends under the Islamic factor”, including the structure of the mosque. After the end of the war in Ukraine, the deputy predicts, there will be “serious clashes” between Muslims and Orthodox in Russia.

Kadyrov responded to the interview on January 23. A recording appeared in his Telegram channel, in which he speaks on behalf of “convinced Muslims” defending Russia’s participation in the invasion of Ukraine. “Today, our soldiers serve on an equal footing with representatives of various confessions and nationalities in the SVO zone [Украине — РС]. There they have a united brotherhood, honest thoughts about fate, sober views on life.”

Kadyrov noted that Matveev is “sitting in the back”. He called such people “the most dangerous enemies”: “rootless, cowardly” and causing “splits in the ranks of true patriots.” “It would be better to throw Matveev out alone, and there will be much less provocations,” wrote the head of Chechnya.

Matveev, who was born in Dnipropetrovsk, was a deputy of the regional parliament in the Samara region for 14 years, the CPRF nominated him to the post of regional governor in 2014. In the 2010s, he actively participated in protest actions and ran for office in the Coordination Council of the opposition. Despite the support of separatist formations in the east of Ukraine, the deputy became the only member of the State Duma who openly opposed the Russian invasion in 2022.