Dagestan leader vows support for Senator Kerimov amid blood feud threats from Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov
Dagestan's leader Sergey Melikov has pledged unwavering support to the republic's senator Suleyman Kerimov, who recently faced blood feud threats from Chechnya's head, Ramzan Kadyrov. "The people of Dagestan will always be grateful to Kerimov," Melikov declared, emphasizing that whenever Kerimov is in need, the Dagestani people will stand firmly by his side. "Those who have experienced his kindness and generosity will stick with the man who has given them so much. Suleyman needs to know that Dagestan will support him through tough times," Melikov expressed during the grand opening of the Suleyman Stalsky Park in Makhachkala on Saturday, October 12.
Highlighting the park's opening, Melikov praised it as one of Kerimov's numerous benevolent acts, alongside his many other initiatives. Among Kerimov’s accomplishments, Melikov listed assistance to families of "SVO" participants (referring to the war waged by Russia against Ukraine), the restoration of Jewish and Orthodox churches in Derbent after a terrorist attack, support for families of fallen police officers, and the development of medical centers for sick children, along with hundreds of investment projects.
On October 10, Ramzan Kadyrov announced that he would officially declare a blood feud against Kerimov and Russian Duma deputies Bekhan Barakhoev and Rizvan Kurbanov, whom Kadyrov accused of plotting to assassinate him.
Kadyrov singled them out following a shooting incident at the Wildberries office in Moscow. "It was a business situation," Kadyrov claimed. "Barakhoev Bekhan was there, Kerimov Suleyman was there, Kurbanov Rizvan was there. They've got their business, which they not only took from a wife. They ordered my assassination," asserted the Chechen leader.
The following day, Rizvan Kurbanov released a video message denying involvement in any assassination attempt on "respected Kadyrov Ramzan Akhmatovich's life," calling on the Almighty as his witness. Kurbanov attributed Kadyrov's grievances to "villains sowing discord," but he did not elaborate on whom he was referring to. Additionally, he disclosed that he was currently abroad.
Bekhan Barakhoev and Suleyman Kerimov have not publicly responded to Kadyrov's threats of a blood feud.