Chechen leader ‘punishes’ minister in boxing ring

MOSCOW - Agence France-Presse

In this image taken from Kadyrov’s Instagram account he is seen in the ring, boxing with Salambek Ismailov, the regional minister of sports and physical culture.

The muscle-bound leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, boasted April 23 that he had challenged a minister to a sparring session to punish him for errors, posting photographs of their punch-up on his Instagram page.

Kadyrov wrote in a message on Instagram that he held the sparring session as a “pep talk” with the regional minister of sports and physical culture, whom he accused of poorly maintaining his ministry’s building.

“With a left and a right hook I explained to him ... that you need to use your head,” he wrote. Russia’s NTV aired footage of Kadyrov in the ring with the minister, Salambek Ismailov, who appeared to pull his punches, while Kadyrov aimed blows at his face and groin. The match went to two rounds and included a referee, television reported.

Kadyrov argued on Instagram that it was “effective to punish in this way failings by officials” and that he was even doing the minister a favor.

“I think it’s better for him to let out his negative energy in the ring towards me, than to take out his bad mood on the family members at home,” he said.