Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov sparred in the ring with the republic's top sports official after inspecting local sports facilities and expressing dissatisfaction with the official's work.
"Why does the ministry have such an old look? Within two weeks, there has to be a complete overhaul, and the minister will be my sparring partner today during training," Kadyrov wrote on his Instagram account on Monday, hours after squaring off with Salambek Ismailov, who was appointed to head Chechnya's sports ministry in February.
"In the course of our conversation, or more accurately of our sparring, I softly and unobtrusively explained that he must work with his head by delivering him hooks from left and right," Kadyrov said, adding that he let Ismailov wear a helmet because the minister had to work the next day.
Maxim Topilin, Russia's Labor Minister, and his Chechen counterpart, Mokhmad Akhmadov, witnessed the bout of sparring, according to Kadyrov's Instagram post.
Kadyrov, a former rebel who is known for ruling the republic with an iron grip, heads Chechnya's boxing federation and is a keen sportsman.
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