Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has received a yurt, or central Asian nomadic tent, as a present from a Kyrgyz family who arrived in the capital of Chechnya at Kadyrov’s invitation, the Chechen leader’s press office reported on Wednesday.
The Zhumashaliyev family from Kyrgyzstan sent a letter to Kadyrov a few months ago saying their grandfather had a dream that the Chechen leader would be reelected to his post. A grandchild who was soon born in the family was given the name Ramzan. Kadyrov invited the family to the republic after receiving the letter.
“The Kyrgyz have a tradition to go visiting friends with a present. Knowing that Ramzan Kadyrov very much respects the various cultures of the world, we have decided to present him with a yurt,” Zhumashaliyev said.
The white khan’s yurt, an exotic dwelling for Chechnya, has been put up in Kadyrov’s country residence in Gudermes.
Kadyrov thanked the Kyrgyz family for the present, saying that friendship between the Kyrgyz and Chechen peoples had a long history, and wished the leadership and the people of Kyrgyzstan peace and prosperity.
Hundreds of thousands of Chechens were exiled to central Asia in 1944 after Stalin falsely accused them of collaboration with the invading Nazis.