Head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov announced the resignation of Chechen Prime Minister Muslim Khuchiev on his Telegram channel on Tuesday, calling him a “a true professional” and a “respected” figure in Chechen politics.

“Friends! My dear BROTHER Muslim Khuchiev has transferred to another job and resigned as chairman of the Government of the Chechen Republic,” Kadyrov wrote on Telegram, without giving specifics on Khuchiev’s new post, before adding that Isa Tumkhadzhiev had been appointed acting Chechen premier.

Khuchiev has served as Chechnya’s prime minister since 2018, before which he was twice mayor of Chechnya’s capital Grozny. In 2012 Khuchiev was fired from his position as mayor of Grozny and severely beaten after other senior Chechen officials complained to Kadyrov about him. Since then, however, Kadyrov has spoken very highly of Khuchiev, commending him as an intelligent and promising leader.

On Wednesday, the speaker of the Chechen parliament, Magomed Daudov, announced his resignation from the position after nine years, stressing that his decision had Kadryov’s blessing.

Khuchiev’s resignation echoes a number of prominent government staffing changes in Russia following the start of Vladimir Putin’s fifth term in office. Since Kadyrov’s diagnosis with a terminal disease became public knowledge last month, changes in the republic’s government are being scrutinised even more closely than usual as various contenders position themselves to replace the long-serving autocrat.