Latest North Caucasus Weekly Articles
Briefs
- Kadyrov Recommended for Russia’s Highest Civilian Award Chechnya’s parliament on April 25 called on the Russian government to confer Russia’s highest civilian award, the “For Services to the Fatherland” First Degree, on the republic’s president, Ramzan Kadyrov, Interfax reported. “Since the moment Kadyrov assumed... MORE
Badrudin Yamadaev Placed on Federal Wanted List
Badrudin Yamadaev, who is the younger brother of Vostok battalion commander Sulim Yamadaev and viewed by many observers as the unit’s de facto commander, has been put on the federal wanted list for kidnapping. Kommersant reported on April 29 that investigators believe that more than... MORE
Mass Brawl and Hunger Strike Reported at Notorious Chechen Prison
Kavkazky Uzel reported on April 25 that inmates of the notorious Chechen correctional colony No. 2 in Chernokozovo had announced a hunger strike following a mass fight between inmates. While the Chechen department of the Federal Service for the Execution of Punishments (FSIN) denied that... MORE
Zyazikov Reportedly Beaten Up by Opposition Businessman
The opposition Ingushetiya.ru website reported on April 30 that around two weeks earlier, Musa Keligov, the former deputy presidential envoy to the Southern Federal District and well-known businessman who some call the “purse” of the opposition to Murat Zyazikov, Ingushetia’s president (Chechnya Weekly, March 20),... MORE
Sulim Yamadaev Denounces Kadyrov
Responding to Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov's accusations that he and his brothers have been involved in a number of crimes and human rights violations, the commander of the GRU's (Russian military intelligence) Vostok battalion, Sulim Yamadaev, said in an interview broadcast by Ekho Moskvy radio... MORE
Who in Moscow Protects the Yamadaev Brothers?
On April 19, the federal authorities made the first concrete decision on the conflict between the Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov and the Yamadaev brothers—Sulim Yamadaev, who heads the Russian army’s Vostok (East) battalion; Ruslan Yamadaev, a former deputy in Russia’s State Duma; and Badrudin Yamadaev,... MORE
Channel One “Uncovers” a Turkish-U.S. Plot in the Caucasus
Russian state television’s Channel One on the evening of April 22 broadcast a putative documentary film made by Kremlin correspondent Anton Vernitsky called “Plan 'Kavkaz'” (The Caucasus Plan). The film purports to show how Turkey, the United States and Great Britain attempted at the start... MORE
This Odd Place Called Ingushetia
Events unfolding in the North Caucasus continue to be a matter of concern for human rights advocates but not in the least for the local governments acting as the Kremlin’s representatives in their respective republics. To mention just a few, the months-long siege of the... MORE
Attacks Reported in Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan
Gunmen in Chechnya opened fire on a Federal Security Service (FSB) Mi-8 helicopter on March 23, RIA Novosti quoted a law-enforcement source as saying. The source told the news agency that the aircraft was damaged and had to make an emergency landing, but that no... MORE
Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Visits North Caucasus
The Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg visited the North Caucasus the past week to assess the situation first hand. Itar-Tass on April 23 quoted Hammarberg as telling journalists following a visit to Chechnya's mountainous Shatoi district that that Chechnya's reconstruction "is... MORE