Russia's Putin reminds wayward Chechnya leader - I'm the boss

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) meets with Chechnya's leader Ramzan Kadyrov at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, in this December 10, 2015 file photo. REUTERS/Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/Kremlin/Files

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin has imposed the Kremlin's writ on every corner of Russia except one: the Chechnya region whose leader Ramzan Kadyrov often pays little heed to the rules that govern the rest of the country.

Putin is now trying to rein Kadyrov in and reminding him who is boss, though alienating him would risk re-igniting an Islamist insurgency that he helped the Kremlin leader defeat.