--MASKHADOV ASSOCIATES SENTENCED Chechnya's Supreme Court sentenced four associates of the late Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov to prison sentences ranging from five-and-a-half to 15 years, Interfax reported on December 1. Vakhid Murdashev, who was captured on March 8, 2005 in the village of Tolstoi-Yurt,... MORE

--STRASBOURG COURT HEARS FIRST CHECHEN DISAPPEARANCE CASE The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg on December 8 heard its first case involving an alleged disappearance in Chechnya, MosNews reported on December 9, citing the Associated Press. Fatima Bazorkina, who accused Russian forces of killing... MORE

--FEDERAL TROOPS AND LOCAL POLICE KILLED IN CHECHNYA Two federal troops were killed in Chechnya when a checkpoint on the outskirts of the village of Kurchaloi came under fire, a source in the republic's Interior Ministry told RIA Novosti on January 3. Two members of... MORE

--KADYROV OFFERS SACRIFICES Chechen Deputy Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov, who is currently serving as the republic's acting prime minister, marked the Muslim festival of Id al-Adha by sacrificing six camels and more than 300 sheep in his native village of Tsentoroi. Radio Mayak reported on... MORE

--150,000 CHECHEN REFUGEES IN EUROPE As many as 150,000 Chechen refugees are in Europe, Kavkazky Uzel reported on January 18, citing Prague Watchdog. According to the website, while the exact number of Chechen refugees in Europe is unknown because they are categorized simply as Russian... MORE

--TREPASHKIN PUT IN PUNISHMENT CELL Newsru.com reported on January 19 that Mikhail Trepashkin, the former FSB colonel who subsequently charged that the Russian security services were behind the 1999 apartment building bombings and was convicted on charges of revealing state secrets, had been placed in... MORE

--FOUR CHECHEN REBELS JAILED FOR INGUSHETIA RAID On February 1, Ingushetia’s Supreme Court sentenced four Chechens to 17 years in prison for involvement in the June 2004 armed attack led by Chechen separatist field commander Shamil Basaev on police and government targets in Ingushetia, which... MORE

--MILITANTS KILLED IN DAGESTAN Two alleged militants died in a shoot-out with security forces in Dagestan's Caspian Sea port of Kaspiisk, Interfax reported on February 7. Security forces reportedly fired on the home in which they were holed up with cannon and flame-throwers mounted on... MORE

--INTERIOR MINISTRY FORCES ATTACKED IN INGUSHETIA An attack on interior ministry troops in Ingushetia killed one and injured four, RIA Novosti reported on February 12. According to Ingushetia's Interior Ministry, the attack occurred on the evening of February 11 in the Suzhensky district village of... MORE

--NEW LEADER IN DAGESTAN Dagestan's parliament on February 20 voted overwhelmingly to confirm its former speaker, Mukhu Aliev, as the republic's first president following the surprise February 16 resignation of Magomedali Magomedov, its long-standing leader. Magomedov stepped down one day after meeting with President Vladimir... MORE