Latest North Caucasus Weekly Articles
Is Kadyrov “Re-Islamicizing” Chechnya?
Kavkazky Uzel on October 24 quoted Aleksei Malashenko of the Carnegie Moscow Center as saying that Chechnya today is undergoing “re-Islamicization.” The website quoted him as saying that Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov is strengthening and propagating Sufi Islam in order to fight against his religious... MORE
Repression in North Caucasus is Feeding the Ranks of the Rebels
Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliev said during a visit to Chechnya on October 27 that 200 rebel fighters have been captured and four rebel gangs have been destroyed in the republic since the start of the year. As Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported on October 28, Nurgaliev... MORE
Rebels Step Up Attacks in Dagestan
Rebels stepped up attacks in Dagestan this past week. Five police officers were killed and nine injured in attacks along the administrative border between Dagestan’s Sergokalinsky and Karabudakhkentsky districts on October 21. One policeman was killed—he was identified as chief Captain Ruslan Muidov, deputy head... MORE
Rebels Reportedly Kill Dozens of Servicemen in Ingushetia
Following the capture of the foothill villages of Muzhichi and Yandare in Ingushetia on the evening of October 16 (North Caucasus Weekly, October 16), militants from the Ingush Jamaat “Shariat” carried out another series of high-profile actions against Russian troops. According to various sources, more... MORE
Events in Ingushetia Spin Out of Moscow’s Control
The Kremlin does not control Ingushetia and that is why control of the republic may be transferred to Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov. Yet this sort of “Chechenization” will only further exacerbate the Ingush crisis. The territory of Ingushetia became a zone of active and large-scale... MORE
Kadyrov’s Power and Cult of Personality Grows
Chechnya has been literally shaken this month. According to Russian sources, 25 tremors were registered in Chechnya on October 11-12 alone (Novye Izvestia, October 13). The epicenter of the strongest shock, which took place on October 11 and was estimated at 6 on the Richter... MORE
Autumn in the North Caucasus Means Increase in Rebel Attacks
Militants in the North Caucasus often strike in the autumn, and October this year has not been an exception. Attacks on the structures and personnel of Russia’s Interior Ministry, Defense Ministry and Federal Security Service (FSB) not only have not abated, but appear to be... MORE
Briefs
Gunmen Take Hostages at Checkpoint and Gambling Parlor in Ingushetia Reuters reported on October 24 that armed men drove into Ingushetia from neighboring Chechnya and abducted up to 15 people including policemen from a checkpoint and a slot machine parlor. According to the news agency,... MORE
Chechen Rebels Target Servicemen and Police
A serviceman was killed and two others wounded on October 23 when a bomb went off in Chechnya’s Shali district as a column of Russian troops was passing by, RIA Novosti reported. Two hours later, a landmine exploded when a group of police officers were... MORE
Is the Kremlin Behind Calls for Merging Ingushetia and Chechnya?
Ingushetia.org reported on October 12 that demonstrators gathered on the administrative border between Ingushetia and Chechnya to call for a unification of the two republics. According to the opposition website, the demonstration was organized by the Ingush leadership, which arranged for demonstrators to be bussed... MORE