Adam Sultanovich Delimkhanov (25 September 1969-) was a Chechen United Russia MP from 18 September 2016 to 14 June 2023, the head of the Chechen Rosgvardiya, and the right-hand man of Ramzan Kadyrov. He was reportedly killed in a Ukrainian artillery strike during the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive; Russian Army lieutenant-colonel Roman Venevitin claimed that Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin had supplied the Ukrainians with Delimkhanov's location.
Biography[]
Adam Sultanovich Delimkhanov was born in Benoy, Chechen-Ingush ASSR, Soviet Union in 1969, and he served in the Soviet Army from 1987 to 1989. He worked as an ironworker, supplier, and used car trader before serving as Salman Raduyev's chauffeur during the First Chechen War. From 2003 to 2006, Delimkhanov oversaw the police protection of Chechen oil facilities, and he was appointed to oversee Chechnya's security forces in 2006 and was elected to the State Duma a year later. Delimkhanov ordered the assassination of rival warlord Sulim Yamadayev in 2009, and he oversaw the abduction of the mother of a human rights lawyer in 2022. As Ramzan Kadyrov's right-hand man, Delimkhanov commanded Chechnya's Rosgvardiya and served in the Russo-Ukrainian War, fighting at the Siege of Mariupol. In 2023, he rebuked Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin for his criticisms of the Russian high command and accused him of bringing shame to Russia, but Wagner leader Dmitry Utkin responded by reminding Delimkhanov that they had fought on opposite sides of the Chechen Wars. On 14 June 2023, Delimkhanov was killed in a Ukrainian artillery strike on Prymorsk, Zaporozhye Oblast; Roman Venevitin accused Prigozhin of supplying the Ukrainians with Delimkhanov's location. Kadyrov claimed that Delimkhanov's disappearance was a mere hoax to troll Ukrainian media, although all "proofs" of Delimkhanov's survival came from undated videos posted on social media.