The Kadyrov succession plan A 17-year-old son’s lavish wedding and rapid promotions signal an heir apparent for Chechnya’s ailing strongman
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and former journalist Lauren Sánchez made headlines around the world last week, but theirs wasn’t June’s only “wedding of the century.” Some 1,350 miles east of that ceremony in Venice, Chechnya hosted its own nuptial extravaganza for Adam Kadyrov, the 17-year-old son of the republic’s long-time ruler. Adam’s marriage comes after his recent promotion to secretary of Chechnya’s Security Council. Meduza reviews what we know about the groom, his bride, their wedding ceremony, and the guests.
Ramzan Kadyrov’s third son, Adam, gained notoriety two years ago when he was filmed beating an inmate in a Grozny detention center. The victim, Nikita Zhuravel, had been arrested for burning a copy of the Quran and was later sentenced to 14 years in prison on charges of treason and insulting religious sentiment. Meanwhile, Adam Kadyrov was honored with six medals, the title Hero of Chechnya, and appointed to head his father’s security service. He was subsequently promoted to oversee Chechnya’s police forces before becoming secretary of the republic’s Security Council.
There are conflicting reports about the identity of Adam Kadyrov’s bride. According to Novaya Gazeta Europe, she is the daughter of Chechen Senator Suleiman Geremeev, and they were first wed a year earlier under Sharia law. However, journalists at RFE/RL say Kadyrov married the granddaughter of State Duma deputy Adam Delimkhanov, another close associate of his father. But Novaya Gazeta reporters insist that Delimkhanov’s granddaughter is actually married to Adam Kadyrov’s older brother, Zelimkhan. According to the news outlet Agentstvo, Delimkhanov’s granddaughter was only 14 when she married — a ceremony that would have required special dispensation from the local authorities to be legal.
Officially, neither the age nor the full identity of Adam’s wife has been disclosed. Only her first name, Medni, is known — the name of Delimkhanov’s eldest granddaughter.
Ramzan Kadyrov’s eldest child, Aishat, revealed Medni’s name in a post on Instagram, where she also announced that the wedding would take place in the Kadyrovs’ hometown, Akhmat-Yurt. Locals told RFE/RL journalists that officials started blocking traffic into the town three days before the ceremony, admitting only invited guests. Adam Kadyrov arrived behind the wheel of a new limited-edition Mercedes, which is currently illegal to import into Russia. He wore a diamond-studded wristwatch that journalists estimate retails for at least $2 million. In a video shared on social media, he leaned out of the vehicle and fired an automatic handgun into the air.
Ramzan Kadyrov announced a long guest list of dignitaries that included Deputy Prime Ministers Denis Manturov and Alexander Novak, Presidential Envoy to the North Caucasus Federal District and former Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika, and LDPR Chairman Leonid Slutsky. The list also featured the heads of nine regions (including Moscow and annexed Donetsk), as well as ambassadors from Iran, the UAE, Turkey, and Kazakhstan. However, according to the Telegram channel Mozhem Obyasnit, several of the figures Kadyrov named weren’t actually physically present at the ceremony. For example, on the day of the wedding, Manturov’s official aircraft never left the ground in Moscow. Likewise, Governor Rustam Minnikhanov didn’t leave Tatarstan (he published a photo from his office), and Ingushetia’s head, Makhmud-Ali Kalimatov, opened a new overpass on June 28 and attended a youth festival.
According to Novaya Gazeta Europe, Ramzan Kadyrov was diagnosed with pancreatic necrosis in 2019. In multiple investigations, the outlet has argued that Kadyrov is trying to secure his children’s future before he succumbs to the illness. These efforts include appointments to senior government positions, arranged marriages with influential Chechen families, and staged meetings with President Putin, which he reportedly believes demonstrate that the Kremlin’s “security guarantees extend to his heirs as well.”
Vladimir Putin has granted audiences at the Kremlin to Ramzan Kadyrov’s three eldest sons, congratulating each of them on their marriages. The president met with Akhmat Kadyrov in 2023, Zelimkhan in 2024, and Adam in 2025. According to Novaya Gazeta Europe, Zelimkhan and Adam were married on the same day in summer 2024, but the Kremlin refused to host a reception for Adam because he was only 16 at the time. The postponed meeting with Putin might explain the year-long gap between the wedding under Sharia law and last weekend’s announcement.
Adam Kadyrov has emerged as his father’s most likely successor, according to news reports. Experts who monitor Chechen politics point to Adam’s outsized public profile, his growing government service resume, his early marriage, and even the scale of his wedding. Adam has risen higher and faster than his siblings, none of whom enjoyed such a lavish ceremony in wartime.