- BUDANOV DENIED PAROLE Andrei Koshkin, the head of the Volga River region Penitentiary Department, said at a news conference on February 20 that a court in the town of Dmitrovgrad had denied a parole request from Yuri Budanov, the Russian colonel who is serving... MORE

- RAMZAN PROPOSES TO MRS. KENYA The Daily Telegraph reported on February 28 that during a visit to Chechnya by participants in the 2007 Mrs. World pageant, Chechnya’s acting president, Ramzan Kadyrov, offered Caroline Varkaik, Kenya’s contender in the contest, the opportunity to become one... MORE

- Kadyrov Appoints His Cousin Prime Minister The Associated Press reported that Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov announced on March 8 that he had nominated his cousin, Odes Baisultanov, who was previously a first deputy prime minister in the republican government, to be Chechnya’s prime minister.... MORE

- YEDELEV SAYS ONLY 450 REBELS ARE LEFT Kavkazky Uzel, on March 19, quoted General Arkady Yedelev, head of the Regional Operations Headquarters for the Anti-Terrorist Operation, as telling reporters in Grozny that rebel forces in Chechnya currently consist of 37 armed groups totaling 450... MORE