MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin has given Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov the Order of Honor for "his professional accomplishments, social activities and many years of diligent work."
Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov, for his part, noted it was a pure coincidence that Kadyrov received the award simultaneously with the arrest of suspects in the murder of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov. One of the suspects once served in Chechnya’s Interior Ministry.
The decision to present these awards, including to Kadyrov, was made a long time ago, Peskov said.
“Preparations of award certificates take several months,” Peskov told RBC.
