The 18-year-old Son Of The Head Of Chechnya Has Formed His Own Private Army

• 16.09.2026, 15:17

Adam Kadyrov's unit was named "Dustum K-13."

In Chechnya, the 18-year-old son of the republic’s head, Adam Kadyrov, has formed his own security unit, which has been named “Dustum K-13,” according to "Verstka". According to the publication, the unit’s fighters are based at the “Akhmat” special rapid-response unit facility in Akhmat-Yurt, the ancestral village of Kadyrov Sr. In late 2025 and early 2026, reports began to appear in Chechen media that members of the “urban group of the Dustum K-13 Central Base” were conducting roadside checkpoints—stopping drivers and inspecting their vehicles.

“Dustum K-13” also has an Instagram channel where videos of the “center’s personnel” in action are posted. For example, in one of the videos, men wearing caps emblazoned with “Dustum” are being trained to shoot down drones and operate unmanned aerial vehicles. There are also videos of drill training, shooting practice, and the evacuation of the wounded. “A soldier is someone who has chosen a path without a schedule, without a stable ‘9 to 5’ job, without the option to spontaneously stay home when things get tough. It’s a life where there’s always someone higher in rank, but at the same time, you have a tremendous sense of responsibility inside you. For the country. For the family. For my choice,” reads the caption under one of the videos.

Adam Kadyrov gained widespread notoriety in September 2023 when he beat Nikita Zhuravely, who had been arrested for burning the Quran, in a Grozny pretrial detention center. After that, he was twice named a Hero of Chechnya and held several high-ranking positions in the republic, including secretary of the Security Council and supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In addition, Kadyrov Jr. was appointed head of his father’s security service. In October 2024, his name was entered into the Russian Book of Records as the youngest head of security for a regional leader—he was 16 years old at the time.

Since then, according to calculations by “Nastoyashchee Vremya,” Kadyrov Jr. has received more than 20 awards, including the Russian Guard’s “For Combat Distinction” medal and Rosenergoatom’s gold medal “For Merits in Enhancing the Safety of Nuclear Power Plants.” He was also awarded the “90 Years of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs Traffic Police” commemorative medal. Kadyrov Jr. was presented with the latter after he caused a fatal traffic accident in Grozny in January 2026 and was himself sent to Moscow for medical treatment.