"I think he has been groomed for the job, but Moscow now has to decide if it is a good move or not giving it to him," said Christopher Langton, analyst at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Kadyrov is lavish in his praise of Putin but analysts say he runs Chechnya with little regard for Russian laws.
GROZNY, Russia, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman whose personal militia runs Russia's Chechnya on the Kremlin's behalf, turned 30 on Thursday making him eligible to run for the region's presidency.
The Kadyrov clan have helped the Kremlin subdue a decade-long separatist rebellion. But rights groups say the price the Kremlin has paid for relative peace is handing over control of the region to a man they say is a thug.
Kadyrov on Thursday presided over a ceremony to re-open his region's airport, which has been closed since fighting between separatists and Russian troops started in 1994.
"The Internet is full of stories about how I cannot wait for my birthday so I can take the president's post. I have said many times I am not ready for this job," Interfax news agency quoted Kadyrov as saying.
But Kadyrov, who as prime minister is Chechnya's No. 2 official, has also previously said if Chechens demanded he become president then he would take up the post.
The constitution of mainly Muslim Chechnya bars anyone under 30 from running for the presidency. Chechen President Alu Alkhanov has a much lower-profile than Kadyrov.
"This is the biggest present for me," a smiling and suited Kadyrov said outside the newly opened airport on the northern fringe of Chechen capital Grozny after the first passenger plane from Moscow in 12 years landed.
He then threw banknotes into a crowd of supporters -- a Chechen tradition at celebrations.
"I think he has been groomed for the job, but Moscow now has to decide if it is a good move or not giving it to him," said Christopher Langton, analyst at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Kadyrov is lavish in his praise of Putin but analysts say he runs Chechnya with little regard for Russian laws.
His powerbase stems from thousands of fighters he controls which provide some street level security for ordinary Chechens and hunt down rebels for the Kremlin which wants to pull out its estimated 40,000 soldiers in the region.
But human rights groups accuse Kadyrov's fighters of kidnapping, extortion and even murder. He denies the allegations.
Kadyrov frequently invokes Allah, is in favour of veils for woman, polygamy and a ban on alcohol -- none of which is in line with Kremlin policy.
