Putin keeps Chechen leader on the job

Regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov addresses a rally marking the 13th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of Russian region of Chechnya, in the regional capital of Grozny, Russia on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. (AP Photo/Musa Sadulayev) (The Associated Press)

People hold flags and banners showing Vladimir Putin and Ramzan Kadyrov, as they take part in a rally marking the 13th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of Russian region of Chechnya, in the regional capital of Grozny, Russia on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. (AP Photo/Musa Sadulayev) (The Associated Press)

A Chechen woman holds a portrait of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, as she takes part in a rally marking the 13th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of Russian region of Chechnya, in the regional capital of Grozny, Russia on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. (AP Photo/Musa Sadulayev) (The Associated Press)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has nominated Chechnya's regional leader for another term in office, shrugging off demands for his dismissal over an alleged role in the killing of a Russian opposition leader.

Putin has relied on Ramzan Kadyrov to stabilize Chechnya after two separatist wars, making him effectively immune from federal controls. Kadyrov's unparalleled privileges and defiant behaviour have earned him numerous enemies in Russia's law-enforcement agencies, whose leaders have pushed for his dismissal.

The February 2015 killing of Boris Nemtsov, a prominent Kremlin critic, has raised pressure on Kadyrov, because the suspected triggerman was an officer in his security force. Russia's liberal opposition activists have accused Kadyrov of involvement in the killing, but Kadyrov rejected the accusations.

Putin didn't mention the killing during a televised meeting with Kadyrov Friday.