Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has publicly disparaged proposed cuts in the state's budget for 2017, saying they will render his government unable to meet social and investment plans. A vote on the Russian federal budget, which is being debated in the Duma, must be taken by the end of the month. The spending plan calls for across-the-board cuts of about 10 percent to each ministry and trims the subsidy to Chechnya.

Federal funding had traditionally comprised 80 to 90 percent of the Chechen Republic's budget — making it the country's most federally subsidized region. The subsidies have cemented Kadyrov's loyalty to the Kremlin and President Vladimir Putin. But they have also generated resentment among the country's ethnically Russian population.

Some Kremlin elites support throttling back on the amount of money Russia allots to Kadyrov and Chechnya. The financial circles that want to keep the federal budget under control do not believe Chechnya needs the amount of money it did in postwar reconstruction. Leaders of the Federal Security Service (FSB) also favor lesser funding for the region, as they see Kadyrov and his circle as a political rivals.

In recent years, the Kremlin has started to trim its Chechen subsidies as the region's economy has strengthened. Kadyrov claimed last year that he had to use his administration's private reserves to make up for budgetary shortfalls. However, that pool reportedly includes money skimmed from individual Chechens' salaries.

On his Instagram account, Kadyrov indicated he would draft his own budget for the republic, reviving memories of the 1998 financial crisis, when Russia's regions defied the federal government's budgetary plans. In response to Kadyrov's social media tirade, Putin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said that while the Kremlin expected arguments over the budget, the cuts were necessary.

How the situation plays out will be an important test for Putin's authority over a wild card like Kadyrov. Kremlin elites, especially in the FSB, would like to see Putin keep Kadyrov's antics in check. The question remains: Can Putin arbitrate the dispute with Kadyrov, or will he again have to yield to maintain the Chechen leader's stability and loyalty.