Latest North Caucasus Weekly Articles

Sulim Yamadaev Reportedly Assassinated in Dubai

Dubai’s The National newspaper reported on April 2 that police in the United Arab Emirates had detained “the prime suspect” in the killing of Sulim Yamadaev, the former commander of the Chechen-manned elite Russian army unit, the Vostok battalion. Citing police sources, the newspaper reported... MORE

Was the FSB Behind the Murder of Vladikavkaz’s Mayors?

On March 12, Russia’s Investigative Committee announced the names of the suspects who killed both the acting and the former mayor of the capital of North Ossetia, Vladikavkaz, as well as several top police officials last year. Nine people are accused of committing the crimes;... MORE

New War Zone Emerges in Southern Dagestan

Reports about armed encounters have been streaming in from Dagestan for the past week. For three days, the Russian army jointly with the Federal Security Service (FSB) and Dagestan’s Interior Ministry carried out a military operation aimed at eliminating a group of militants in the... MORE

Briefs

Policeman Abducted and Killed in ChechnyaChechnya’s Interior Ministry said on March 25 that a police officer was abducted by militants and killed in the republic's Vedeno district, The Associated Press reported. The ministry reported that the officer had been kidnapped the night of March 24... MORE

Observers Mull Kadyrov’s Latest Demarche

Kommersant on March 26 quoted Akhmed Zakaev, the London-based prime minister of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, as saying of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov’s assertion that an announcement of an end to the counter-terrorist operation in Chechnya is imminent: “On paper, of course, you... MORE

Militants, Security Forces Battle in Ingushetia’s Ordzhonikidzevskaya

Itar-Tass, citing Ingushetia’s Interior Ministry, provided details of a special operation to “neutralize militants” carried out in the village of Ordzhonikidzevskaya, in Ingushetia’s Sunzha district, on March 26, during which a militant holed up in an apartment building was reportedly killed and two women detained.... MORE

Exclusive Interview with Anzor Astemirov, March 2009

Journalist Fatima Tlisova recently conducted an interview with Anzor Astemirov, who was the leader of Islamic militants in Kabardino-Balkaria and more recently became had of the Sharia courts for the Caucasus Emirate, the radical wing of the North Caucasian insurgency. The Jamestown Foundation believes the... MORE

Ingush Insurgency Approaches Major Crossroads

Militant actions in Ingushetia increasingly are bearing the signs of an uncompromising struggle against the authorities. At times, the news reports from this republic resemble wartime chronicles. The daily news from Ingushetia in the Russian mass media is filled with reports of armed assaults, explosions... MORE

Briefs

Prosecutors in Ingushetia Order New Probe into Yevloev’s DeathProsecutors in Ingushetia have ordered a new investigation into how opposition website founder Magomed Yevloev was shot and killed in police custody last August 31. Reuters on March 16 quoted Musa Pliev, a lawyer for the Yevloev... MORE