--KOZAK MEETS WITH BESLAN VICTIMS' RELATIVES President Vladimir Putin's envoy to the Southern Federal District, Dmitry Kozak, met with representatives of the Mothers of Beslan and Voice of Beslan committees in Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia, on May 23 (Kavkazky Uzel, May 24). Kozak told journalists after... MORE

--ALKHANOV DENOUNCES “CLAN-BASED POLITICS” In his first “state of the nation” address to the Chechen people and parliament on May 29, President Alu Alkhanov said that the North Caucasus needs to modernize its political system, Itar-Tass reported. “Not only the Chechen Republic but also other... MORE

--INGUSH LAW-ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL ATTACKED Unknown gunmen men in Nazran shot up a car carrying a group of Nazran border guards on June 7, RIA-Novosti reported. A law-enforcement source told the news agency that one of the servicemen was seriously wounded. The attackers escaped in a... MORE

--RAMZAN FANS CELEBRATE HIS FIRST 100 DAYS Thousands of Chechens rallied in Grozny on June 14 in a demonstration marking the first 100 days of Ramzan Kadyrov's tenure as Chechnya's prime minister. "Kadyrov's bearded face topped with a Che Guevara style beret scowled down on... MORE

--FEDERAL FORCES KILLED AND WOUNDED IN CHECHNYA Kavkazky Uzel reported on June 21 that a bomb disposal expert with the federal forces in Chechnya was injured when an explosive device detonated on the road between the villages of Zamai-Yurt and Meskety in the Nozhai-Yurt district.... MORE

--FOUR SERVICEMEN KILLED IN CHECHNYA Radio Liberty’s Russian-language service reported on June 28 that four Russian servicemen were killed fighting in Chechnya. The radio station reported that two servicemen died and four were wounded in a battle with militants in the Achkoi-Martan district. Another serviceman... MORE

--IRAQI INSURGENTS EULOGIZE BASAEV The al-Qaeda-linked Mujahideen Shura Council in Iraq posted an Internet statement on July 12 expressing condolences on “the martyrdom” of Shamil Basaev. According to the SITE Institute, the group stated, “As Emir Ibn al-Khattab and Abu al-Walid al-Ghambi were killed before... MORE

--OSSETIAN MILITANTS ATTACK INGUSH POLICEMEN Two Ingush policemen were seriously wounded when a GIBDD traffic police post near Ingushetia’s administrative border with North Ossetia was shot up, Kavkazky Uzel reported on July 19, citing RIA Novosti. The incident took place on the outskirts of the... MORE

--KADYROV AND ALKHANOV CALL FOR A THIRD TERM FOR PUTIN The political council of the Chechen branch of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party is going to introduce in Russia’s parliament an initiative to amend the Russian constitution to allow President Vladimir Putin to serve more... MORE

--ABU HAFS PUT ON INTERNATIONAL WANTED LIST The Chechen prosecutor’s office put the alleged al-Qaeda envoy in the North Caucasus, Abu Hafs, on the international wanted list, Itar-Tass reported on August 2. “The involvement of Jordanian citizen Abu Hafs in crimes committed on the territory... MORE