The head of Russia’s newly formed National Guard has been presented with Chechnya’s highest award by republic chief Ramzan Kadyrov, the local news agency Chechenskaya Respublika Segodnya reported Tuesday.
Viktor Zolotov was presented the Order of Akhmat Kadyrov for «outstanding services to the Chechen Republic». The award was established in 2004, in memory of the first Chechen president, Ramzan Kadyrov’s father. Akhmat Kadyrov was killed in a suicide attack on May 9, 2004 in the Chechen capital of Grozny.
Kadyrov also awarded Zolotov with a certificate to mark his completion of a course at Chechnya’s International Center for Special Forces Training.
The creation of the National Guard was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin in April. The new force will take on a number of roles previously carried out by Interior Ministry troops, and will have more than 340,000 members in total. Viktor Zolotov was the former chief of Interior Ministry’s troops, and headed the president’s security service between 2000 and 2013.
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