A video emerged and went viral showing Russia’s President Vladimir Putin receiving and kissing a copy of the Quran during his visit to Chechnya as Ukraine continues its surprising incursion into Russian territory.
Putin kissed the Quran received as gift at a mosque in Chechnya pic.twitter.com/xZw1eEuYQJ
— AlexandruC4 (@AlexandruC4) August 21, 2024
The clip emerged after Putin signed a decree on August 19th aimed at making it easier for individuals who support traditional values and oppose “neoliberalism” to relocate to Russia.
During a rare visit to the region that once tried to break away from Russia in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Putin also met with Ramzan Kadyrov, who serves as the current Head of the Chechen Republic and a close Kremlin ally. The two met while visiting the newly constructed "Prophet Jesus" mosque in the Chechen capital, Grozny.
In the mosque, Putin was presented with a gold-encrusted copy of the Quran before kissing it in front of the cameras. The purpose of Putin’s unscheduled trip to Chechnya, where more than 90% of the population identifies as Muslim, is to encourage military volunteers to be trained there before being sent to the frontlines in Ukraine, as Russia continues to suffer huge losses since the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In the mosque named after Prophet Isa (jesus) (peace be upon him), president putin was met by the respected Mufti of the Chechen Republic, Sheikh Salah-Hadji Mezhiev.
People's president for a reason pic.twitter.com/gK9X41tW4U— ASLAN (@ASLANCHECHEN12) August 20, 2024
Putin’s Quran kiss also seems to signal the Kremlin’s continuing push toward moral and religious conservatism in recent years. The August 19 decree signed by Putin allows those who reject LGBTQIA+ rights and criticism of organized religions to apply for and obtain Russian residence permits more easily, bypassing certain standard procedures outlined in Russian law.
Specifically, prospective applicants will not be required to show documentation proving their proficiency in the Russian language, knowledge of Russian history, and understanding of Russian laws. They can also cite their opposition to the policies of their home countries, which impose what the Russian government sees as "destructive neoliberal ideological attitudes that contradict traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.”
In May 2023, a Russian man named Nikita Zhuravel was arrested after he allegedly posted a video of himself burning a copy of the Quran with a mosque in the background and saying words mocking Islam and Muslims. Authorities claim Zhuravel confessed to burning the Quran at the behest of Ukrainian security services.
Rusya’da Kur’an-ı Kerim yakan Nikita Zhuravel 3,5 pic.twitter.com/8fWpCmeXjJ
— THS Haber (@temmuzhaber) February 27, 2024
His case drew international attention after Ramzan Kadyrov uploaded a video showing his son, Adam Kadyrov, beating and kicking Zhuravel while he was in pre-trial detention in Chechnya. Last February, Zhuravel was sentenced to three years and six months in prison at a court in Grozny for blasphemy and offending religious sentiments in public.
