Russian President Vladimir Putin made an unannounced visit to Chechnya today, laying flowers at the grave of the war-ravaged region’s assassinated president.

Thousands of mourners flocked to Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov’s native village for his funeral today, a day after the Moscow-backed leader was killed by a bomb blast that cast Russia’s efforts to stabilise and control the war-ravaged region into chaos.

REBEL Chechnya voted for a new president yesterday, in a virtually one-horse race which the Kremlin hopes will help bring peace to the war-devastated region, but which many observers doubt will make a real difference.