Latest North Caucasus Weekly Articles
Rights Activists: Police Zeal in Prosecuting Suspected Rebels Violates Laws and Common Sense
Rights activists of Kabardino-Balkaria have challenged official estimates of the number of militants from the republic believed to be fighting in Syria. In April, Kabardino-Balkaria’s Deputy Interior Minister Kazbek Tatuev stated that 130 residents of the republic, including 28 women, were fighting in the Middle... MORE
Major Mudslide Forces Consideration of Alternative Transportation Routes Across Great Caucasus Ridge
On June 23, the Terek River flooded and destroyed part of the Georgian Military Highway (Voyenno-Gruzinskaya doroga). The highway, which connects Russia to Georgia and Armenia, was closed. The flood caused mudslides and destroyed an estimated 500–600 meters of the highway, blocking the narrow road... MORE
Major Mudslide Forces Consideration of Alternative Transportation Routes Across Great Caucasus Ridge
On June 23, the Terek River flooded and destroyed part of the Georgian Military Highway (Voyenno-Gruzinskaya doroga). The highway, which connects Russia to Georgia and Armenia, was closed. The flood caused mudslides and destroyed an estimated 500–600 meters of the highway, blocking the narrow road... MORE
Russian Security Services Target Muslim Cleric
Police in Moscow this week arrested the imam of one of the city’s mosques, Makhmud Velitov. The authorities accused the cleric of “public justification of terrorism” as described in Article 205.2, Part 1 of the Russian Criminal Code. The authorities alleged that Velitov defended a... MORE
Russian Security Services Target Muslim Cleric
Police in Moscow this week arrested the imam of one of the city’s mosques, Makhmud Velitov. The authorities accused the cleric of “public justification of terrorism” as described in Article 205.2, Part 1 of the Russian Criminal Code. The authorities alleged that Velitov defended a... MORE
Russia’s National Antiterrorist Committee Reports Special Operation in Dagestan
Russia’s National Antiterrorist Committee (NAK) reported that during a special operation in Dagestan’s Karabudakhkent district on July 7–8, “as a result of operational and combat activities, the forces of the FSB [Federal Security Service] neutralized nine people” (Riadagestan.ru, July 8). According to the NAK, the... MORE
Russia’s National Antiterrorist Committee Reports Special Operation in Dagestan
Russia’s National Antiterrorist Committee (NAK) reported that during a special operation in Dagestan’s Karabudakhkent district on July 7–8, “as a result of operational and combat activities, the forces of the FSB [Federal Security Service] neutralized nine people” (Riadagestan.ru, July 8). According to the NAK, the... MORE
Cossacks and Moscow Still Disagree Over What It Means to Be a Cossack
Cossacks in Ingushetia have appealed to the Terek Cossack Force to accept them as members. The latter is expected to make its decision by this fall. The Cossacks of Ingushetia have asked to become members of the Terek Cossack force for years, so far unsuccessfully.... MORE
Cossacks and Moscow Still Disagree Over What It Means to Be a Cossack
Cossacks in Ingushetia have appealed to the Terek Cossack Force to accept them as members. The latter is expected to make its decision by this fall. The Cossacks of Ingushetia have asked to become members of the Terek Cossack force for years, so far unsuccessfully.... MORE
Political Turmoil Erupts in Abkhazia as Moscow Reduces Its Financial Support
Late on July 10, the head of Abkhazia’s Central Electoral Commission, Batal Tabagua, admitted that a mere 0.99 percent of registered voters had cast a ballot in the referendum on holding early presidential elections in the republic (Gazeta.ru, July 10). The referendum in Abkhazia reflected... MORE