The city of Grozny, the capital of the Chechen Republic in Russia’s South Caucasus, has been named “2025 Cultural Capital of Russia”, Chechen broadcaster Grozny reported on Friday.
The finale of the “2024 Cultural Capital of Russia” competition took place in Moscow on Thursday, with the city of Nizhny Novgorod being pronounced the winner. However, the judges also named Grozny the winner for 2025 in advance, citing the Chechen team’s vivid presentation, which included national dances and songs.
This is the first time the Cultural Capital of Russia contest, which aims to raise investment in Russian cities as well as to promote them as tourist destinations, has taken place. The winner of the contest, which is organised by Russia’s Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives, will receive additional federal funding, Chechen broadcaster Grozny reported.
On Monday, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov posted a video to his Telegram channel showing his 15-year-old son Adam beating up a defenceless 19-year-old, Nikita Zhuravel, in detention in Chechnya for allegedly burning a copy of the Quran. “He did the right thing to beat him up”, Kadyrov wrote in the caption to the video, adding that he was “proud “ of his son’s choice.
Tatyana Moskalkova, Russia’s human rights commissioner, responded to the video on Tuesday, saying that “irrespective of the severity of the crime committed, people should answer for it before a court of law”, conceding, however, that destroying holy books could not “go unpunished”.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the situation at a regular briefing with journalists on Tuesday. When asked why he wouldn’t comment, he replied simply: “I don’t want to”.
