99% of voters can’t be wrong RAMZAN KADYROV has few inhibitions. Last week, just before the first anniversary of the murder of Boris Nemtsov, a liberal Russian opposition leader, by a member of Mr Kadyrov’s security services, the Chechen strongman posted a video on his Instagram page. It depicted Mikhail Kasyanov, a former prime minister, in the crosshairs of a sniper rifle. “Kasyanov is in Strasbourg to get money for the opposition,” Mr Kadyrov commented under the video, in a clear warning to opposition politicians. “Whoever still doesn’t get it, will.”
Mr Kadyrov has been ratcheting up the invective for a while. Last month he called liberals “vile jackals” who should be treated as “enemies of the people”. In an article in the pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia, Mr Kadyrov offered psychiatric treatment to opponents of President Vladimir Putin. He also staged a large rally in Grozny, Chechnya’s capital, lest anyone doubt his popular support.
For many Russians, and not only opposition figures, Mr Kadyrov’s latest antics went too far. Ella Panfilova, a human-rights ombudsman in the Kremlin…
