article_snippet: And how exactly does it help Putin to look like a killer?
article_snippet: But why would Washington want to destroy someone who was championing democracy and who is friendly to the United States?
article_snippet: (Conspiracy theorists reply: to create a "sacrificial lamb" and blame the slaughter on Putin.)
article_snippet: To make things more complicated, the strongman leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, praised Dadayev as a brave soldier, a religious man and a "real patriot.
article_snippet: But on Tuesday, Putin awarded Kadyrov the Order of Honor, and Putin pledged Putin would die for Putin.