The Russian authorities have sent guidelines to the media, advising journalists to ignore any mention of the downing of an AZAL aircraft in Aktau. The case should be referred to as a tragic incident, as described by Russian President Vladimir Putin, reports the National Resistance Center (NRC).
The Center refers to a document shedding light on how Russia is attempting to cover up the situation regarding the downing of an Azerbaijani Airlines plane by Russian air defense in Aktau airport on December 25.
“It shows the degradation of the Russian regime, its total deceitfulness, and the rapid loss of foreign policy influence. It is also likely that the Russian dictator will not punish his loyal vassal Kadyrov or anyone from the Chechen administration at all, but will instead blame someone very minor. ,” the NRC states.
The NRC reminded that Chechen President Kadyrov has an extensive network of representatives across Russia. The document mentioned below was developed and sent on behalf of Turpal Akhmedovich Ilyasov, the representative of the head of the Chechen republic in the Urals Federal District.
The letter from Ilyasov was obtained from the email of his son, Adam Ilyasov. He also works in the same representation, serving as the head of the secretariat, and is responsible for media relations.
The document is a kind of guideline with instructions on what should or should not be commented on. The text suggests that it reflects the position of Kadyrov and his administration head, Galas Taimaskhanov.
In particular, the letter advises ignoring any mentions of the downing of the plane. Instead, it recommends calling it a tragic incident, as Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to it in his address.
The letter contains another level of cynicism:
The letter continues with intriguing details about the behind-the-scenes power dynamics within the Russian elite. It asserts that Russia will never admit its guilt, framing the situation as a clear stance of Putin. Consequently, it is merely described as a tragic accident that occurred in Russian airspace.
The letter also reveals that Putin is dependent on the loyalty of his Chechen vassals:
NRC conclusions
Firstly, Putin’s official apology to Azerbaijani President Aliyev was general and demonstrates how dependent Russia is on maintaining relations with both Azerbaijan and its regional partners.
“In fact, Putin’s position is too weak to ignore this incident. If earlier, as in the case of the downing of Malaysian flight MH-17, Russia could afford to ignore and hush up the facts for years, overloading the information space with mutually exclusive false versions, in the case of the Baku-Grozny flight, no matter how much Putin wanted to, he had to apologize,” writes the National Resistance Center (NRC).
The Center reminds that this apology was, of course, a half-apology, as Russia still does not want to fully admit its guilt and is thus playing with new speak about tragic incidents. However, such an apology does not satisfy the Azerbaijani side – they are demanding the identification of those responsible and holding them accountable.
Secondly, the NRC reminded that the Chechen Security Council and Kadyrov’s nephew, Hamzat, announced on Instagram on December 24 that all drones in the sky over Chechnya had been destroyed. “The information that the drones hit an object is not true, everything was shot down!” he wrote in the comment to the video of one of the drones being destroyed. He is virtually the only official who confirmed the drone attack on Chechnya.
“The next day, when it became known that the Azerbaijani plane had been shot down, Kadyrov awarded his nephew the medal “For Merit to the Chechen Republic.” Obviously, this gave rise to theories about the involvement of Kadyrov’s relatives in instructing air traffic controllers to redirect the plane so that it would crash into the sea, thus hiding all evidence of the crime,” the article reads.
The Center also believes that Chechnya and the Kadyrovites are a kind of oprichniki of Putin. It was noted that Moscow does not interfere with the Caucasus, and Chechnya has one of the lowest levels of involvement in the Russian occupation army, as well as a low level of casualties. Other, more distant regions (Bashkiria or Tatarstan) suffer much higher human losses.
“So, in this situation, when Putin is tied to the loyalty of the Caucasus but needs to find those responsible for the downing of the plane, he will most likely choose the traditional option of scapegoating. And the letter makes it clear that it will be the air traffic controllers, not the Chechen administration. This directive sent by Turpalov clearly shows the rapid degradation of the Russian Federation. After all, a regime built on lies and crimes cannot give the world anything but the suffering of innocent people,” the National Resistance Center stated.
Plane crash in Kazakhstan
On December 25, an Embraer 190 aircraft crashed during landing at the airport in the Kazakh city of Akau. There were 67 passengers and crew members on board, of which 38 people were killed.
The plane made three attempts to land in Grozny, Chechnya, but was unable to do so. During the last attempt, the aircraft was damaged and headed towards Kazakhstan.
In the first hours after the tragedy, the Russian side presented various reasons for the disaster: a bird strike, dense fog, and an explosion of an oxygen cylinder on board. However, after examining the wreckage, it was found that the aircraft had been hit by a surface-to-air missile — the plane’s landing coincided with the operation of air defense systems targeting Ukrainian drones in Grozny.
Russian President Vladimir Putin made two phone calls to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. During the conversations, the leaders discussed the details of the plane crash.
Read more about whether Aliyev will distance himself from Putin due to this aviation incident in our article.
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