Kadyrov Shames Chechen Social Worker on Tv

Few Chechens dare to criticize Ramzan Kadyrov publicly, and those who do risk being bullied into submission.

But earlier this month, Ayshat Inayeva was angry.

A social worker from the Chechen village of Gvardeyskoye, Inayeva said that after paying off her utility bills her boss was forcing her to put aside another 3,000 rubles ($42) from her paycheck as collateral for next month's payment.

In a two-minute audio message posted to Whatsapp that was then shared by others on social media, she placed the blame squarely on the Chechen strongman.

"What do you want from us? You are not even letting us bring our salary home," Inayeva asked of Kadyrov. "Are you the only one who ought to eat? Are you the only one who ought to drink? Are you the only one who has the right to live?"

Three days later, a sullen Inayeva found herself on government-run TV, supposedly with an opportunity to address the "Padishah," a superlative meaning "Great King" that Chechens often use in Kadyrov's company, in an "open dialogue."

Perched n a golden, brocaded couch next to her seemingly mortified husband and flanked by parliament speaker Magomed Daudov, presidential administration head Islam Kadyrov, and others, including her boss, Inayeva took back everything she'd said.

The 39-year-old Kadyrov -- wearing a sweatshirt decorated with the images of his assassinated father, former pro-Moscow Chechen leader Akhmad Kadyrov, a mosque, and the words "The road to success -- dream, pray, act" -- hectors her at length and casually drops loaded words like "extremism" and "Wahhabism." He replays segments of her audio message as Inayeva and her husband mostly stare downward, hands folded in front of them.

The Inayeva of three days earlier had called out Kadyrov as selfish.

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"We'll die of hunger," she'd complained, "and you don't care, as long as you do well, as long as your construction goes well. You pay your...