Used to be, Chechnya’s leader Ramzan Kadyrov was more likely to be pictured with his signature gold-plated handgun than with a baby lamb or butterfly. But now the 36-year-old – accused by rights activists of crimes from torture to masterminding high-profile killings, all of which he denies – is actively revamping his public image with the help of Instagram.

Analysts say his active presence on social networks is part of a calculated campaign to rehabilitate his reputation as a violent man with blood on his hands – adding that the target audience seems to lie beyond Chechnya’s borders, as all the posts are in Russian rather than Chechen.

Read the full feature in The Moscow News.