Latest North Caucasus Weekly Articles
North Caucasus Hit by Wave of High-Profile Assassinations
Reports from the North Caucasus suggest that the region's armed resistance movement remains highly active and - given the news of several high-profile assassinations in the region this past week - may even be stepping up its activities.On June 5, the 53-year old Interior Minister... MORE
No Let Up in Insurgent Attacks in the North Caucasus
The armed underground Islamist movement in Dagestan, the Sharia Jamaat, has claimed responsibility for the June 5 assassination of the republic's Interior Minister, Adilgerei Magomedtagirov. The Sharia Jamaat posted a relatively short initial claim on its website on June 9, in which it said that... MORE
Kadyrov Claims Umarov Gravely Wounded, Accuses U.S. of Subversion
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov claimed on June 10 that the leader of the armed Islamic separatist movement in the North Caucasus, Dokka Umarov, was wounded earlier this month during a special operation conducted along the Chechen-Ingush administrative border. "It can be said with a large... MORE
Deputy Chairperson of Ingushetia’s Supreme Court Murdered
President Dmitry Medvedev traveled to Dagestan on June 9 and vowed to fight extremism in the North Caucasus just four days after the assassination of the republic's interior minister, Adilgerei Magomedtagirov, at a wedding ceremony in the capital Makhachkala (EDM, June 9). However, attacks apparently... MORE
Assassination of Interior Minister Marks a new Level of Political Violence in Dagestan
Dagestani Interior Minister Adilgerei Magomedtagirov was killed in broad daylight at the entrance to restaurant in Makhachkala on June 5. Even though Dagestan is known for political murders - and specifically the murders of top law-enforcement officials - it was the first time that an... MORE
Rights Groups Highlight Continuing Abuses in the North Caucasus
Human Rights Watch, the Memorial Human Rights Center, and Russian Justice Initiative said in a joint statement on June 4 that the number of European Court of Human Rights judgments holding Russia responsible for serious violations of human rights in Chechnya has surpassed 100, but... MORE
Insurgent Violence Returns to Kabardino-Balkaria
Violence appears to be ratcheting up in yet another region of the North Caucasus - Kabardino-Balkaria. The republic's capital, Nalchik, was the scene of a large-scale rebel attack in October 2005 in which 35 law enforcement officers, 12 civilians and 92 rebels were killed, but... MORE
Social Protest and Political Struggle on the Rise in Dagestan
Electricity cutoffs in the capital of Dagestan, Makhachkala, have become the focal point of social protest actions in the republic. The Dagestani electricity distribution company imposed restrictions on the supply of electricity in Makhachkala on May 21 and extended the restrictions to several other Dagestani... MORE
Bombings and Shootings Reported Across North Caucasus
A month and a half after the President Dmitry Medvedev ordered an official end to the decade-long counter-terrorism operation in Chechnya, bombings and shootings have been reported there and in neighboring Dagestan, Ingushetia, North Ossetia over the past several days.A man was hospitalized with shrapnel... MORE
Bombings and Shootings Reported Across North Caucasus
A month and a half after the President Dmitry Medvedev ordered an official end to the decade-long counter-terrorism operation in Chechnya, bombings and shootings have been reported there and in neighboring Dagestan, Ingushetia, North Ossetia over the past several days.A man was hospitalized with shrapnel... MORE