Latest Briefs
BRIEFS
--SOLDIERS MOTHERS: 2,000 SERVICEMEN MISSING Valentina Melnikova, head of the Union of Soldiers' Mothers Committees, believes that 2,000 of the Russian soldiers sent to Chechnya during the two wars remain unaccounted for, Novye izvestia reported on May 17. According the newspaper, the Russian government puts... MORE
BRIEFS
--THE FIGHTING IN CHECHNYA GOES ON… Russian troops killed two rebel fighters guarding a rebel base in Chechnya's Vedeno district, Radio Liberty's Russian-language service reported on May 24. In Grozny that same day, police discovered and defused a large explosive device on the grounds of... MORE
BRIEFS
--PUTIN CONCERNED ABOUT CAUCASUS EXODUS President Vladimir Putin expressed concern over the exodus of the Russian-speaking population from the North Caucasus during a May 25 meeting of Cossack leaders in Rostov Oblast. "As for the exodus of the Russian population from the North Caucasus, it... MORE
BRIEFS
--IVANOV DEFENDS ULMAN VERDICT On June 6, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov defended last month's acquittal by a Rostov jury of GRU Captain Eduard Ulman and three subordinates on charges of murdering six Chechen civilians in January 2002. Ivanov also attacked Russia's chief military prosecutor, Colonel-General... MORE
BRIEFS
--GANTAMIROV VERSUS THE CHECHEN GOVERNMENT On June 13, Chechnya's State Council and government sent a complaint to the Kremlin accusing former Chechen vice-premier Bislan Gantamirov of "trying to discredit the lawful authorities of the republic, and also the policy of the federal center." Kommersant reported... MORE
BRIEFS
--KADYROV GETS ANOTHER MEDAL Chechen President Alu Alkhanov signed a decree conferring Chechnya's top award, the Order of Akhmad Kadyrov, on Ramzan Kadyrov, the late Chechen president's son and Chechnya's first deputy prime minister, Itar-Tass reported on June 18. The order, which is decorated with... MORE
BRIEFS
--REBELS AND FEDS EXCHANGE FIRE Citing the Chechen Interior Ministry, Interfax on June 26 reported that rebels had attacked policemen across the republic. According to the news agency, armed men broke into the home of police officer Aslanbek Asuev in Shatoi district village of Yukerch-Keloi,... MORE