Latest North Caucasus Weekly Articles
Circassian Congress Calls for Unification of Circassian Republics in North Caucasus
An extraordinary congress of Circassian people took place on Sunday, November 23, in Cherkessk, the capital of the North Caucasus republic of Karachaevo-Cherkessia. The congress date had been announced and rescheduled several times. Several days before the event, the leader of the republic’s Circassians, Mukhamed... MORE
Dagestan’s Sharia Jamaat Expands and Reorganizes
It is possible even with a cursory glance at militant activities in the North Caucasus to see clearly that their main zones of action remain—for the second year in a row— Dagestan and Ingushetia. While Ingushetia’s Sharia Jamaat (led by Emir Magas) is well ahead... MORE
Briefs
Chechen Rebel Attacks Kill Four Policemen and a CivilianChechnya’s Interior Ministry reported that three policemen and a civilian were killed and four other policemen and four local residents were wounded late on November 22 when rebels detonated a radio-controlled landmine in the village of Sadovyi... MORE
Sulim Yamadaev Says a Chechen Unit Has Been Sent to Moscow to Kill Him
On November 24 the Russian newspaper Gazeta quoted Magomed Khambiev, the former defense minister of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI) and current deputy in Chechnya’s pro-Moscow parliament, as saying that three pending criminal cases against former Vostok battalion commander Sulim Yamadaev will be... MORE
Human Rights Violations Remain Rife in Ingushetia
While some observers have praised Ingush President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov and members of the republic’s opposition have expressed a willingness to give the new leader a chance to make the changes he has promised (North Caucasus Weekly, November 21), a number of Ingush are reportedly starting... MORE
Medov Removed as Ingushetia’s Interior Minister
Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliev removed Musa Medov as Ingushetia’s interior minister on November 24. Medov, along with Murat Zyazikov, who was removed as Ingushetia’s president late last month (North Caucasus Weekly, October 30), were accused by the republic’s opposition party of involvement in the... MORE
Russia Admits Rebel Fighter Activity in Chechnya
Faced with recurring reports of assaults and assassinations in Grozny and the rest of Chechnya, Russian government officials are being forced to admit that rebel fighter operations have become a reality. As always, the leadership of Russia’s Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defense attempts... MORE
Dagestani Jamaat Expands Operations into Azerbaijan
Everything started last August 17 with the explosion at the Abu Bekir mosque in Baku. This mosque is considered a meeting place for those who adhere to the Salafi ideology. A grenade was thrown into the mosque during the evening prayer, killing two people and... MORE
Kadyrov Leads a Special Operation
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov personally organized and led a special operation aimed at members of “illegal armed formations” in Chechnya’s Kurchaloi and Nozhai-Yurt districts on November 14-15, Interfax reported, citing the Chechen presidential press service. The chief of that service, Lemma Gudaev, was quoted as... MORE
Islamic Militants Ratchet Up Attacks in Dagestan
Dagestan has seen an uptick in violence between security forces and suspected Islamic militants during the past week. A police officer was killed in the village of Leninkent near the capital Makhachkala on November 19. Interfax quoted an unnamed spokesperson for Dagestan’s Interior Ministry as... MORE