Adam Kadyrov, the 18-year-old son of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, has created the “K-13 Team” — an armed formation that includes the sons of senior Chechen officials and security officers. As the independent outlet Verstka found, the group’s members include the son of Chechen Prime Minister Magomed Daudov, the son of police special-purpose regiment commander Zamid Chalaev, and a nephew of Deputy Prime Minister Abuzayd Vismuradov.
The group’s creation was reported on the K-13 Team Instagram account, which is linked to the younger Kadyrov. The post features a photo of 18 armed men standing next to Adam and a caption saying they are ready to carry out any assignment regardless of place and time. Loyalty, discipline, and responsibility are named as the team’s main principles. At the same time, there is no official confirmation that the group has been categorized as an independent unit of the Interior Ministry, the National Guard, or any official security agency.
Verstka journalists identified most of the people in the photo, including Yakub Chalaev, 21, and Ramzan Daudov, 18. Chechen Prime Minister Magomed Daudov previously headed the Chechen parliament and was one of Ramzan Kadyrov’s most influential associates.
The new group also includes Akhmat Vismuradov, 21, nephew of Chechen Deputy Prime Minister Abuzayd Vismuradov; Abubakar Kadyrov, 30, nephew of the republic’s leader; Ramzan Matsuev, 18, brother-in-law to Ramzan Kadyrov’s daughter Aishat; and Dokka Aidamirov, 21, and Minkail Usmanov, 23, nephews of Ramzan Kadyrov’s wife Medni. In addition, Verstka identified Shamil Iraskhanov, 36, a relative of the head of Grozny’s Interior Ministry department, and Khas-Magomed Naurbiev, 19, the son of the deputy commander of the SOBR Akhmat rapid response unit.
The identified participants also include Adam’s personal bodyguard: Khalid Tesaev, 28, previously danced in the Nokhcho ensemble and has been listed by other users in the phone books examined by Verstka as “Dustum’s assistant” and “Dustum security.” (“Dustum,” Adam Kadyrov’s call sign, was also previously used by his father.)
From personal brand to armed formation
This past September, Verstka also reported on the creation of commercial projects affiliated with Adam Kadyrov under the K-13 and Dustum brands. They include energy drinks, boxing promotion, and elite car rental.
As Verstka established, one member of the new team, Minkail Usmanov, co-owns Elite Car, a company that rents out cars under the Elite Car 13 brand and that listed the Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation as a co-founder until 2014. From 2011 to 2019, the firm received government contracts for supplying vehicles worth 88.3 million rubles ($1.1 million). In 2025, its net profit was 1.2 million rubles ($12,900).
The investigation describes another formation, Dustum K-13, whose base is located on the premises of the SOBR Akhmat rapid response unit in the Kadyrov family’s ancestral village of Akhmat-Yurt. Its fighters conduct shooting and drone-operation training and also take part in raids on Chechnya’s roads, stopping cars and demanding that drivers remove window tinting.
However, there is no public evidence that members of the newly presented K-13 Team perform similar tasks. It is also unknown whether its personnel overlap with the Dustum K-13 unit reported on earlier.
How Adam Kadyrov gained control of the security agencies
Adam Kadyrov was appointed to formal leadership positions even before reaching adulthood. In November 2023, soon after he beat up Nikita Zhuravel (a young man from Volgograd who had been detained over burning a Quran in front of a mosque), the younger Kadyrov was appointed head of security for the head of Chechnya. In April 2025, he became the curator of the republic’s Interior Ministry and then officially led the regional Security Council.
In March 2026, The Insider drew attention to Adam Kadyrov’s appearance in a uniform with a major’s insignia. He has also received numerous regional and departmental awards. By The Insider’s count, as of November 2023 he already had nine of them, presented in the span of less than two months. In June 2026, Adam Kadyrov received the title Hero of Chechnya for the second time. In June 2025, Adam also met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow. At the meeting, the president congratulated him on his upcoming wedding.
