Kadyrov rules the Chechen Republic through despotism and repression. Over the years, he has come under criticism from international organizations for a wide array of human rights abuses under his government, with Human Rights Watch calling the forced disappearances and torture so widespread that they constituted crimes against humanity. During his tenure, he has advocated restricting the public lives of women, and led anti-gay purges in the Republic. Kadyrov has been frequently accused of involvement in the kidnapping, assassination, and torture of human rights activists, critics, and their relatives, within both Chechnya and other regions of the Russian Federation, as well as abroad, through the political use of police and military forces. He publicly denies these accusations.
