According to Novaya Gazeta Evropa, the Chechen leader's eldest son, Akhmat Kadyrov, is considered the leading candidate to become the republic's next leader, displacing his younger brother, Adam. The alleged reason for this change was an accident involving 18-year-old Adam Kadyrov, which forced his father to seek medical attention in Moscow.

The newspaper notes that 20-year-old Akhmat has begun appearing more frequently in public alongside the elder Kadyrov, attending important meetings and praying in the front row, which, the newspaper believes, indicates his growing role. However, according to Chechen tradition, the eldest brother always comes before the younger ones, so this fact is unlikely to be used as a supporting argument by the authors of the publication. However, Novaya Gazeta also believes that the appointment of the Chechen leader's eldest son to the posts of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Sports of Chechnya also underscores his importance.

Furthermore, Vladimir Putin signed a decree expressing gratitude to Akhmat Kadyrov "for his services in the field of physical education and sports, and for his many years of conscientious work."

As a reminder, on January 16, Adam Kadyrov's motorcade was involved in a traffic accident in Grozny, resulting in the death of the driver of the other car, and Adam himself and his entourage being hospitalized in Moscow. Ramzan Kadyrov and his entourage have denied the accident from the very beginning, calling it a "fabricated hoax."

However, Adam's obvious weight loss and noticeably altered speech reveal the consequences of the incident.