The informal security unit Team K-13, associated with Adam Kadyrov, the son of Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov, is comprised of his relatives and the children of senior officials in the republic. The independent Russian media outlet Verstka (‘Layout’) drew attention to this on Monday after examining a photograph published on an Instagram account linked to Adam Kadyrov five days ago. On Monday evening, Chechen Deputy Chair of government Ilman Vakhidov claimed there was no separate unit run by Adam Kadyrov.
In the photograph, Adam Kadyrov poses alongside 17 armed men wearing military uniforms without identifying insignia. At least four of those pictured are close relatives of Adam Kadyrov and his father, Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov.
They include Ramzan Matsuev, the younger brother of the republic’s Agriculture Minister Viskhan Matsuev and the husband of Ramzan Kadyrov’s daughter Aishat, Dokka Aydamirov and Minkail Usmanov, nephews of Ramzan Kadyrov’s wife Medni Kadyrova and Adam Kadyrov’s cousins, and Abubakar Kadyrov, Ramzan Kadyrov’s nephew and Adam’s cousin.
The photograph also features children of Chechnya’s other elite.
These include Ramzan Daudov, the son of Chechen Chair of government Magomed Daudov, Akhmat Vismuradov, the nephew of Deputy Chair of government Abuzaid Vismuradov, and Yakub Chalaev, the son of Zamid Chalaev, commander of a special police regiment.
Also pictured are Khas-Magomed Naurbiev, the son of Magomed (Adam) Naurbiev, deputy commander of the Akhmat SOBR special police unit, 36-year-old Shamil Iraskhanov, a relative of Grozny police chief Apti Iraskhanov, and 28-year-old Khalid (Shamkhan) Tesaev, a former dancer with the Nokhcho ensemble who is now listed in phone contacts as ‘Dustum’s assistant’ and ‘Dustum’s security’.
Dustum is the call sign previously used by Ramzan Kadyrov, which he passed on to his son. The designation K-13 is also used for projects associated with Adam Kadyrov, including an energy drink business, a car rental service, and a boxing promotion company.
OC MediaElizaveta Chukharova
A post on the Team K-13 account claims that Adam Kadyrov personally assembled the group. Its members are described as ‘men of their word, honour and discipline, ready to carry out any assignment regardless of the place or time’.
On Monday evening, Chechnya’s minister for national policy, external relations, press and information, Ilman Vakhidov, commented on reports about Adam Kadyrov’s ‘team’, denying that the group had the status of a security unit. He told the state-run news agency RIA Novosti that reports about the creation of a separate security unit were untrue. However, Vakhidov did not explain how the children of local officials had obtained military uniforms and weapons if they were not members of the security forces.
According to Vakhidov, Instagram has no verified accounts belonging to Chechen security agencies or government bodies, and the Komanda_k13 (Team_k13) account is not an official source of information. He suggested that the page was run by a private individual and added that its posts could not be considered a reliable source.
OC MediaElizaveta Chukharova
A separate formation associated with Adam Kadyrov, known as Dustum-13, had been reported previously. According to Verstka, its central base is located on the grounds of the Akhmat SOBR special police unit in the Kadyrov family’s ancestral village of Tsentoroi, also known as Akhmat-Yurt. The first reports about the base’s activities appeared in social media channels aligned with the Chechen authorities in autumn 2025.
Videos and posts associated with Dustum-13 have shown tactical shooting exercises, drill training, instruction in operating drones and countering them. Reports have also described road patrols during which members of the formation stopped cars and checked them. In one video, Akhmat SOBR commander Timur Edilov was seen giving instructions to members of a patrol.
It is unclear whether Team K-13 and Dustum-13 are the same formation.
Adam Kadyrov, age 18, holds several official positions in Chechnya. He oversees the so-called Special Forces University in Gudermes and the republic’s entire security bloc. He also serves as an aide to his father and heads his father’s security department, as well as serving as secretary of Chechnya’s Security Council.