PYATIGORSK, March 15 (RIA Novosti) – Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has given a minister’s job to Arbi Tamayev, who subscribed to his newly registered account on a popular photo sharing service Instagram, a spokesman for the republic’s administration said on Friday.
Tamayev has been appointed minister for cooperation between the republic’s government and civil society. The new post in the republic’s cabinet of ministers was created this week, the spokesman said.
“Arbi Tamayev actively reacted to my request to gather Instagram users, took initiative and was persistent,” Kadyrov wrote on his Instagram page. He said Tamayev will have to show “these qualities” when performing ministerial duties.
“As you see, everything started with one phone number, and now it has grown into a whole ministry,” Kadyrov said.
The Chechen leader said the new ministry has been tasked with uncovering problems and informing other government structures about them. It will also hold a dialogue with citizens about the republic’s economic, social and cultural development.
Earlier this week, Kadyrov issued an order to bring together all Instagram users who criticized his government. He said he was open to discussion with them and offered to pay their travel expenses related to the meeting.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov became an Internet celebrity in February, after the Chechen government’s press service said he opened an official account on Instagram, a popular photo sharing service, uploading several images a day.
The account, called kadyrov_95, presently has a total of 261 images and 74,270 subscribers.
The first image was uploaded on November 30 of last year, but the press service only made an official statement in late February, saying that Kadyrov “regularly comments on his followers’ posts.”
In June 2012, Kadyrov opened a Twitter account, @RKadyrov, which has more than 25,000 followers.
Tamayev’s job offer mirrors the promotion of Igor Kholmanskikh, a foreman at the Uralvagonzavod tank manufacturing plant, who was offered the position of President Vladimir Putin’s authorized representative in the Urals Region after he offered to disperse opposition rallies in Moscow with a bunch of friends.
