You can always tell when a despot has stolen every penny in the country ....
... Its when he (its never a 'she' these days ... Imelda is long gone), starts giving away money like a King of old.
So for example, we have case study number one ..... Ramzan Kadyrov, ex-warlord, and now ruler of the Russian semi-autonomous province of Chechnya. Now I have actually mentioned him in despatches before, when discussing dictators lions (or other exotic pets), so perhaps its no surprise that as an up-and-comer, in the precarious (especially in that part of the world), art of being a dictator, he's been flashing the cash.
Firstly, he has initiated a scheme for giving would be 'bridegrooms' the money to make the traditional pre-nuptial payment, known as "urdu", to the bride (or more probably her father ... after all she's being bought from him, as is the tradition in many Muslim cultures). Perhaps its analogous to dowries in other countries.
He "has made bride money available to 207 grooms who have been left in need by the quarantine," from a charity fund named after his late father Akhmat, because of the economic impact of the coronavirus epidemic. This has meant that many Chechen men cannot afford to make the payments .... each man has received a payment of 50,000 roubles ($700+) .... which is apparently the going price for someone's daughter.
In a way he's saved some money, as usually the cost of a Chechen wedding is higher, but the Covid-19 pandemic has meant that the number of cars, guests and venues etc are restricted, where normally they are attended by hundreds of family, friends and other people. Incidentally, in 2017 he decreed that divorced couples should try to live together again as part of a strict drive to impose conservative Islam on the country ....
But if this largesse in his fathers name wasn't enough, his officials have been organising poetry competitions in praise of other members of Mr Kadyrov's family.
Now, as the love of his family, or indeed him, may not be all that great outside of his immediate circle (there was at least one attempt to assassinate him in 2009, and his father was assassinated in 2004), someone probably thought that an incentive to creativity was required.
So they offered cash and smart-phones
.... and all the remaining finalists got a smart-phone .... Mr Kadyrov later posted on Instagram that the winners got "impressive" cash prizes.
In fact so popular was this with Mr Kadyrov, that an official organised another one ... this time for his mother, Ayman Nisievna Kadyrova, who has reached the age of 67, and they wanted the country (if not the world ... yet!), to celebrate this achievement. So they asked the children of Chechnya to write praise poems, or paeans to his mother. Recently they have also organised competitions for children's drawings, and also an international Koran recitation marathon, all of which are also rewarded, the latter with a large prize of $81,200.
You can only do this kind of thing when you are are sole ruler and arbitrator of how state funds are dispersed ..... or you have stolen all the money, and so can use your own funds .... He's definitely moving up the ranks of modern dictators, and this all rings the bells for a small country dictator such as Turkmenistan which has had a couple of leaders in this mould .... one to watch out for.
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| No One Is Going To Ask Him Where He Gets His Money ...... |
... Its when he (its never a 'she' these days ... Imelda is long gone), starts giving away money like a King of old.
So for example, we have case study number one ..... Ramzan Kadyrov, ex-warlord, and now ruler of the Russian semi-autonomous province of Chechnya. Now I have actually mentioned him in despatches before, when discussing dictators lions (or other exotic pets), so perhaps its no surprise that as an up-and-comer, in the precarious (especially in that part of the world), art of being a dictator, he's been flashing the cash.
Firstly, he has initiated a scheme for giving would be 'bridegrooms' the money to make the traditional pre-nuptial payment, known as "urdu", to the bride (or more probably her father ... after all she's being bought from him, as is the tradition in many Muslim cultures). Perhaps its analogous to dowries in other countries.
 |
| Chechen Weddings Look Very Western - White Dress And Veil |
He "has made bride money available to 207 grooms who have been left in need by the quarantine," from a charity fund named after his late father Akhmat, because of the economic impact of the coronavirus epidemic. This has meant that many Chechen men cannot afford to make the payments .... each man has received a payment of 50,000 roubles ($700+) .... which is apparently the going price for someone's daughter.
In a way he's saved some money, as usually the cost of a Chechen wedding is higher, but the Covid-19 pandemic has meant that the number of cars, guests and venues etc are restricted, where normally they are attended by hundreds of family, friends and other people. Incidentally, in 2017 he decreed that divorced couples should try to live together again as part of a strict drive to impose conservative Islam on the country ....
But if this largesse in his fathers name wasn't enough, his officials have been organising poetry competitions in praise of other members of Mr Kadyrov's family.
Now, as the love of his family, or indeed him, may not be all that great outside of his immediate circle (there was at least one attempt to assassinate him in 2009, and his father was assassinated in 2004), someone probably thought that an incentive to creativity was required.
So they offered cash and smart-phones
- The winner was offered $6,700 (£5,100),
- the runner-up $4,000,
- the third-placed $2,700,
.... and all the remaining finalists got a smart-phone .... Mr Kadyrov later posted on Instagram that the winners got "impressive" cash prizes.
In fact so popular was this with Mr Kadyrov, that an official organised another one ... this time for his mother, Ayman Nisievna Kadyrova, who has reached the age of 67, and they wanted the country (if not the world ... yet!), to celebrate this achievement. So they asked the children of Chechnya to write praise poems, or paeans to his mother. Recently they have also organised competitions for children's drawings, and also an international Koran recitation marathon, all of which are also rewarded, the latter with a large prize of $81,200.
You can only do this kind of thing when you are are sole ruler and arbitrator of how state funds are dispersed ..... or you have stolen all the money, and so can use your own funds .... He's definitely moving up the ranks of modern dictators, and this all rings the bells for a small country dictator such as Turkmenistan which has had a couple of leaders in this mould .... one to watch out for.
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