On a chilly Tuesday evening in Grozny, Chechnya, a select group of 20 fighters stepped into Hotel Grozny City, a towering luxury establishment presented as one of the finest tourist resorts in the recently developed city. The fighters, all handpicked by the Chechen Republic’s ruler Ramzan Kadyrov to attend a private dinner, made their way through the building and entered the elevator dressed in identical outfits – tracksuits emblazoned with the Akhmat logo, doused in mismatched colors that blurred the lines between a Jackson Pollock painting and 1960’s era tie-dye.
As they rose 32 stories to the ‘Kupol’ restaurant, a view of the Sunzha river & the ‘Heart of Chechnya’ mosque took precedence amidst the impressive scenery.