Chechnya buried assassinated President Akhmad Kadyrov today.
Separatists have been targeting Mr Kadyrov for some time in addition to their bombing campaign. Yesterday, at a World War Two victory ceremony in the regional capital Grozny he was killed in a bomb attack in which six others died.
The ex-Muslim cleric and pro-Moscow strongman was central to Russian President Vladimir Putin's plan to stabilise the region but a dangerous power vacuum now exists in the province.
Mr Kadyrov (52) who once led the separatists, ruled Chechnya with an iron fist and was increasingly taking over powers from his Kremlin masters, negotiating with moderate rebels and suppressing opposition among rival clans.
As thousands of mourners flooded tightly guarded roads to attend the funeral in Mr Kadyrov's home village of Tsentoroi from Grozny, Russian officials insisted they had the security situation under control.
Television pictures showed dozens of people attending the burial after Mr Kadyrov's body, under a sheepskin blanket, was delivered to the cemetery.
Russian and Chechen officials blamed rebels for the assassination, but rebel leader Mr Aslan Maskhadov denied any involvement in an interview to rebel news agency Chechenpress.