Kadyrov was born in Tsentaroy, RSFSR, USSR. He was the second son in Akhmat and Aimani Kadyrovs' family and their youngest child. He had an elder brother named Zelimkhan (1974 – 31 May 2004), and he has two elder sisters, Zargan (born 1971) and Zulay (born 1972). Kadyrov strove to gain the respect of his father, Akhmad Kadyrov, who was an imam. He claims that he always emulated his father. Akhmad had supported the call for jihad against Russians during the First Chechen War but switched sides and declared allegiance to Russia in the Second Chechen War. In the early 1990s, as the Soviet Union dissolved, the Chechens launched a bid for independence.