Chechnya's Strongman President Loses Dog, Is Reunited After Instagram Appeal

Ramzan Kadyrov, a man once described as an "unpredictable warlord" during the notoriously brutal Chechen wars, nowadays projects a more measured image via his popular Instagram account.

Just this week, the Kremlin-backed Chechen President was forced to turn to his followers when he had a big problem: He had lost his dog.

On Wednesday, Kadyrov posted that his Caucasian shepherd, named Tarzan, had "left the residence in Grozny under unclear circumstances." He appealed to his followers for help:

Kadyrov later announced that thanks to his followers' help, the dog had been traced to the neighboring republic of Ingushetia.

A young local man and his friends had found Tarzan. They took a photograph to show the dog was okay:

Kadyrov later regrammed an image of the dog in a car, returning to meet its owner again:

Kadyrov was finally reunited his dog, and he ate dinner with the young men who helped return Tarzan to him (the Moscow Times notes that they appear to have received an unspecified reward).

Kadyrov only joined Instagram a year ago, but he has already racked up a considerable following, with over 2,000 posts and more than 210,000 followers. He has used the photo-sharing service in publicity stunts before: Earlier this year he created a position in his cabinet for one dedicated Instagram follower.