They stole my horse Zazu, worth 10 million dollars

The Chechen leader added that he had become the “first victim of the sanctions” against him back in 2014, taking “this first heinous blow from the democratic West.”

The head of Russia’s Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, announced today that his racehorse, nicknamed Zazu, was stolen in the Czech Republic. According to Kadyrov, the stallion is worth at least 10 million dollars, TASS reported.

Czech police are investigating the theft of the purebred English breed – part of Kadyrov’s property, impounded in the country in connection with the international sanctions against him. According to the Russian website “RBK”, the kidnapper stole the stallion on the night of March 4 from a stable in a Czech village. The stud farm’s owner was unmoved and locked the stables to prevent the horses being taken. 

“And I will beg you not to belittle the value of my riding horse. The media cited authorities as saying it was worth $18,000. This artificial underestimation is certainly due to some financial machinations on the part of those responsible for his care and care, but the purebred Zazu is worth at least 10 million dollars,” Kadyrov wrote in Telegram.

The Chechen leader added that the horse became “the first victim of the sanctions” against him back in 2014, taking “this first nasty blow from the democratic West”.

“Generally speaking, I don’t believe in coincidences. Horse thieves are somehow unique – they are both stupid enough to steal a sanctioned horse, and clever enough to avoid being discovered by the police. I do not believe. It is insulting that a beautiful and noble animal is suffering. I’m worried that Zazu could fall into bad hands,” Kadyrov concluded.

Photo of Zazu by Czech police.