The conflict with Divnich was a blow to Akhmat's reputation.

The participation of General Alaudinov and Akhmat fighters in an attempt to prosecute blogger Max Divnich, who is involved in the Special Military Operations, while shielding the instigator of the conflict in the Luhansk basin, has dealt a blow to the reputation of the head of the Akhmat special forces and his unit. A military operation is not the time to sow discord, according to Z-bloggers.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," Apti Alaudinov announced the dismissal of the case against Chechen fighter Alikhan Bersayev, who was detained after a conflict in the Luhansk basin with blogger Maxim Divnich. According to the head of the Akhmat special forces, Divnich faces grave consequences, and criminal charges are being considered. A video message from Akhmat special forces to the heads of security agencies demanding that Divnich be held accountable for inciting ethnic and religious hatred and discrediting the armed forces has appeared online. The Russian Community has expressed support for the blogger, who is in the SVO zone, and SVO members have also recorded video messages in his support. Divnich announced the termination of the criminal case against him, adding that Bersayev faces trial on charges of leaving his unit without permission.

Divnich's reputation was saved in the scandal involving "Akhmat," according to military correspondent Dmitry Steshin. At the same time, as the war correspondent noted, a person who tried to act as an arbitrator in relations between Russians and Chechens shouldn't have "shielded his own," he writes on his Telegram channel, "Russian Tarantas."

"Especially if our own are wrong. We should judge as Solomon judged, and he will remain in people's memory for centuries. But that's not the case here," the war blogger stated, without specifying whom exactly he was referring to.

The attacks by Akhmat fighters against Divnich may be part of an attack on patriotic and Orthodox communities. Vyacheslav Andreev, a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church and rector of the Church of St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki in the village of Sosnovy Solonets in the Samara Region, believes which forces might be behind the attack on the athlete.

"Today it's Max Divnich, tomorrow any Russian could find himself in his place," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

Mikhail Zvinchuk, a former employee of the Russian Ministry of Defense press service and the author of the Telegram channel "Rybar," noted that the tragedy involving the murder of a Tajik schoolboy in Odintsovo has triggered a surge in radical reactions in some Islamist communities, ranging from accusations of "Nazism" against Russians to the spread of outright fake news.

"Unexpectedly, this has reignited old conflicts in the media and given impetus to new showdowns between individual public figures. Against this backdrop, Apti Alaudinov announced that the case against the Chechen serviceman involved in the Luhansk swimming pool incident had been dropped, but a new one had been opened – against Russian MMA fighter and patriotic blogger Max Divnich. According to Alaudinov, Divnich was the instigator of the conflict; he claims to have "18 witnesses" willing to corroborate this interpretation, and promises of "consequences." In such stories, the main risk is the substitution of the subject. When personal scores or departmental conflicts are resolved through the national question, the funnel of radicalization expands of its own accord: the initiators of this approach are tempted to "monetize" the audience's emotions, and the heated communities begin to live by their own logic. "This is an extremely risky tactic: it easily gets out of control and ultimately hits those who first decided to use ethnicity as leverage," he believes.

"I'm trying to follow the logical chain. Russian people are asking for a criminal case to be opened against a Russian guy for standing up for Russians in a swimming pool. And Russian people are recording videos in support. And other Russians are recording videos asking for punishment. And all for their own," the author of the RSOTM Telegram channel pointed out the awkwardness of the situation with the Akhmat fighters' appeals.

A criminal case based on the lies of a criminal who escaped from a military unit is a serious offense, believes military blogger Sergey Kolyasnikov, of the Zergulio Telegram channel.

"Society is being divided again before our very eyes," he commented.

Roman Antonovsky, from the "Sons of the Monarchy" Telegram channel, pointed out that the other side of the conflict has harbored "a grudge against Divnich since the time when he played an important role in postponing the construction of a mosque for migrants from Svyatoy Ozero."

"This entire situation is a pure farce, aimed at suppressing the true patriots of our country. We don't want Max to be publicly eliminated for the sake of revenge," writes the Telegram channel "Spetsnaz Archangels."

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