Latest North Caucasus Weekly Articles
Ex-Chechen Rebel Official Goes to Europe to Convince Exiles to Return Home
Magomed Khambiev, the former defense minister of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI) who is now a deputy in Chechnya’s pro-Moscow parliament, traveled to Western Europe on August 3 for meetings with top separatists living abroad aimed at convincing them to return to Chechnya,... MORE
Chechen and Federal Authorities Declare Sulim Yamadaev a Fugitive
The ongoing conflict between the pro-Moscow government and the Vostok battalion of the Russian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) intensified on August 6 when the Chechen authorities announced that the battalion’s commander, Sulim Yamadaev, has been put on the federal wanted list for various... MORE
Zakaev Denies Making Overtures to Kadyrov
The London-based prime minister of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI), Akhmed Zakaev, has denied that comments he recently made which were widely interpreted as praise for Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov are part of an attempt to reach an accommodation with the pro-Moscow Chechen... MORE
Attempt on Ramzan Kadyrov’s Life Reported
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov on July 30 denied reports that he had been the target of an assassination attempt. “Those rumors are being generated either by the Wahhabis themselves or provocateurs straining for cheap sensationalism,” Gazeta.ru quoted Kadyrov as saying during a meeting with Chechnya’s... MORE
From Derbent to Nazran: Rebels Step up Attacks in the North Caucasus
This summer, which was discussed with much fear in the offices of the pro-Moscow authorities in the North Caucasus as well as among the top brass of the Russian armed forces in the region, turned out exactly as was predicted. Militant activities by members of... MORE
Moscow’s Favoritism Towards Cossacks Mocks Circassian History
On July 19, the Circassian republic of Adygea marked the 90th anniversary of the 131st motorized rifle brigade of Cossacks located in Maykop, the region’s capital. Although this Cossack brigade is a regular part of the Russian armed forces it does have one distinguishing characteristic.... MORE
Police in Dagestan Targeted Yet Again
A police officer and a local resident were wounded in Karabudakhkent, Dagestan, on July 30 when unidentified gunmen fired on a traffic police post. Interfax reported that the gunmen fired from a garden plot not far from the police post and that the policemen returned... MORE
Police Headquarters Bombed and Rights Activist Abducted in Ingushetia
On August 1, one policeman was killed and another wounded when they were inspecting a private home in the city of Malgobek and a group of suspected militants opened fire on them with automatic rifles and grenade launchers. The rebels escaped into a wooded area... MORE
Kadyrov Tells Medvedev All’s Well as Violence in Chechnya Continues
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov told President Dmitry Medvedev during their meeting at the presidential residence in Gorki outside Moscow on July 25 that the situation in Chechnya is stable and reconstruction is accelerating. “The situation in our republic is stable both politically and socio-economically, and... MORE