In all the hoopla over Vladimir Putin resurfacing, a pretty important news item managed to slip below the radar.On March 16, the same day the Kremlin leader appeared, Interfax quoted an unidentified law- enforcement official as saying that the assassination of Boris Nemtsov has been reclassified from a "contract killing" to a "hate crime."
The report is still unconfirmed. But if the official line becomes that this was not a contract killing, then there is no need to investigate who put out the contract.
There is no need to look beyond Zaur Dadayev and the others rounded up in connection with the hit.
There is no need to ask any uncomfortable — and destabilizing — questions.
By targeting Dadayev — the former deputy commander of a paramilitary unit formed by Kadyrov and run by the Chechen leader's cousin, Adam Delimkhanov — the Federal Security Service (FSB) seemed to be ultimately targeting Kadyrov.
And now it appears that Kadyrov has successfully beaten back the FSB's assault.
It was amid this turmoil that Putin vanished from public view on March 5, just six days after Nemtsov was assassinated and three days before Dadayev was charged.
"Putin appeared, live and legitimate, at exactly the same moment when Interfax reported that the Nemtsov assassination wasn't a contract hit," political analyst Leonid Volkov wrote on Facebook.
"Putin had to make a choice. Either feed Kadyrov to the FSB-men, or give up the FSB to Kadyrov. It's a difficult and unpleasant choice ... And he chose the one and only thing he could choose: Kadyrov."
A tribute — and a threat
Over the 10 days, 21 hours, four minutes, and 20 seconds that Putin was holed up in an undisclosed location — before turning up in St. Petersburg on March 16 for a meeting with Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev -- a lot of weird stuff happened.
Kadyrov publicly praised Dadayev, went to a shooting range to pop a few rounds, and posted the video on Instagram. The Chechen leader also posted a letter on Instagram expressing his enduring loyalty to Putin.
"I will always be grateful to Vladimir Vladimirovich for everything he has done for me and for my people," Kadyrov wrote.
"I will always be his faithful companion, regardless of whether he is president or not. To give one's life for such a person is an easy task."
But within the profession of loyalty, there was also a veiled threat -- one that was punctuated by the shooting range outing. I am loyal, Kadyrov seemed to be saying. But others may not be. And taking me down carries risks.