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Kadyrov Closes Newspaper After Putin's Presser

A journalist fortunate enough to be called on at President Vladimir Putin's news conference on Thursday didn't prove so lucky for her newspaper.

The newspaper, Kadyrov's Path, was promptly closed by local authorities in Chechnya's Itum-Kalinsky district for illegally naming itself in honor of assassinated Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov.

The decision was sanctioned by Kadyrov's son, Chechnya's current leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who said the newspaper had not asked his family for permission to use the family name.

"It is not ethical in this sense," he said in comments carried by Forbes.ru.

He also said the reporter, Balkhas Dudayeva, had asked questions of a "provocative character." He did not elaborate.

Dudayeva, in her question, called Chechnya a "zone of peace and stability" and asked Putin what he would do about "negative events moving to the neighboring republics."

The newspaper, launched last year to mark what would have been Akhmad Kadyrov's 60th birthday, wasn't completely unknown to local authorities. Chechnya's official news agency praised the newspaper on its launch for its decision to adopt Kadyrov's name.

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