Latest North Caucasus Weekly Articles
High-profile Murders in Kabardino-Balkaria Underscore the Government’s Inability to Control Situation in the Republic
On December 29, 2010, a prominent Circassian ethnographer, Arsen Tsipinov, was gunned down at the doorsteps of his home in a suburb of Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria. Tsipinov was known for his active role in promoting Circassian ethnic identity and culture. The ethnographer’s killing... MORE
Putin and Medvedev Regime Challenged by Nationalist Football Fans
Rioting by nationalist youths and football fans on December 11, in Moscow was followed by fresh outbreaks of violence on December 15. Russian and non-Russian rioters known in Russia as “Caucasians” –representing different ethnic groups from the North and South Caucasus– are reported to have... MORE
Insurgency-Related Violence Reported in Kabardino-Balkaria, Dagestan and Chechnya
The chairman of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Kabardino-Balkaria, Anas Pshikhachev, was murdered on December 15 in the republic’s capital, Nalchik. An official with Kabardino-Balkaria’s Investigative Committee was quoted as saying that two unidentified men arrived at the mufti’s home, asked him to come... MORE
Nationalist Uprising in Moscow has Serious Implications for the North Caucasus
On December 11, the largest ever Russian nationalist riots in modern Russia broke out in Moscow. The protesters, consisting of about 5,000 soccer fans and members of several Russian nationalist organizations, gathered at Manezh Square, which is adjacent to the Kremlin and Red Square. They... MORE
Ethnic Rivalries Appear to be Tearing Russia’s Army and Society Apart
On December 10, the official responsible for the military draft in North Ossetia, Colonel Yuri Morozov, stated that the 2010 fall campaign to conscript youth for service in the Russian army was in danger of failing. According to Morozov, only 200 out of the 2,300... MORE
Insurgency Related Violence Reported In Dagestan, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria
Russian Deputy Prosecutor-General, Ivan Sydoruk, said on December 8 that the number of terrorist acts committed in the North Caucasus Federal District rose 100 percent in comparison to last year. According to Sydoruk, 14 terrorist acts have been carried out in the district this year.... MORE
Moscow Considers Kabardino-Balkaria Jamaat as Threat to the North Caucasus
Speaking in the regional capital of Pyatigorsk on November 18, Russian Interior Minister, Rashid Nurgaliev, put Kabardino-Balkaria next to Dagestan and Ingushetia as the most dangerous places in the North Caucasus in terms of the terrorist threat (https://www.caucasustimes.com/article.asp?id=20543). Up until last year, the republic of... MORE
Ingush rights activists awarded as abuses in the republic persist
On December 5, the Ingush non-governmental organization Mashr, which is headed by Magomed Mutsolgov and focuses on monitoring human rights violations in the republic, received the Moscow Helsinki Group. “Daily work in the field of rights of the individual and the defense of freedom in... MORE
Moscow Increases Its Focus on Solving the North Caucasus Riddle
On December 1, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin appointed himself as the head of the Russian government’s commission for the socio-economic development of the North Caucasus. The existing head of the North Caucasus Federal District, Aleksandr Khloponin, became Putin’s deputy on the commission. “Close coordination... MORE
Chechen Exiles Reportedly Live in Fear of Kadyrov’s Agents
The father of Umar Israilov, the former bodyguard of the Chechen President, Ramzan Kadyrov, who was murdered in Vienna in January 2009 after accusing Kadyrov of torture and giving evidence against him to the European Court of Human Rights, is expected to testify today (October... MORE