Latest North Caucasus Weekly Articles
Chechen Parliament Asks Defense Minister to Deal with Vostok Battalion
Chechnya’s parliament on April 17 adopted a resolution calling on Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov either to dissolve Vostok, the elite Chechen-manned battalion that answers to the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of the Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff, or to replace its leaders, including its formal... MORE
Oil in Chechnya: A Brief History
The first reports of oil deposits in Chechnya surfaced in the writings of travelers who noted streams of a peculiar black substance gushing out from under the ground in some parts of Chechnya that nearby villagers used as lubricant. As early as in the late... MORE
Yamadaev vs. Kadyrov: The Kremlin’s Quandary with Chechnya
On Monday 14, a large-scale gun battle broke out in the Chechen city of Gudermes between forces of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov and the Yamadaev brothers —Sulim Yamadaev, who is the commander of the Vostok battalion, and Ruslan Yamadaev, who is a deputy in the... MORE
Observers Put Their Money on Kadyrov
Several leading Russian political analysts have weighed in on the confrontation between the GRU’s (Russian military intelligence) Vostok battalion, led by Sulim Yamadaev, and forces loyal to Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov. Reuters on April 16 quoted Moscow-based defense analyst Pavel Felgenhauer as saying that armed... MORE
Briefs
- Reputed Chechen Crime Boss Reportedly Abducted Kommersant reported on April 14 that a reputed Chechen crime boss whose partner has been linked to the murder of Novaya Gazeta correspondent Anna Politkovskaya and Russian Forbes editor Paul Klebnikov was abducted in Moscow earlier this year.... MORE
Gunmen in Ingushetia Target Police, Kill Supreme Court Deputy Chairman
Newsru.com, citing the Ingushetiya.ru website, reported on April 16 that a “pitched battle” was taking place in the Ingush town of Karabulak. Ingushetiya.ru quoted local residents as saying that gunfire, machinegun bursts and explosions could be heard in the area of a base belonging to... MORE
Kremlin Backing of Cossacks Heightens Tensions in the North Caucasus
Moscow is boosting its programs to support Cossack communities in the Caucasus. The Russian president’s advisor for Cossack affairs, General Gennady Troshev, recently toured the republics of the North Caucasus and met with their respective presidents. The discussions focused on the issues related to government... MORE
Russia Attempts to Draft Chechens into the Army
Twice each year, all Chechen mothers with sons aged 18 to 27 start worrying about their children’s future as news of the draft into the Russian army begins to circulate. Every spring and fall Chechnya's Military Commissar Sedim Tsunaev starts talking about the need for... MORE
Chechen Rebels Step Up Operations
Kavkazky Uzel reported on April 8 that Chechnya’s rebels have stepped up their activities and even taken control of villages on at least two occasions during the last month. With the arrival of spring and the appearance of foliage, which works to the advantage of... MORE
Chechen Rebels’ Split has not Hampered their Activities
Last October, the Chechen/Caucasian rebel leader Dokka Umarov declared the Caucasian Emirate, an Islamic state uniting all peoples of the North Caucasus. In his statement, which was posted on rebel websites, Umarov said that all governing structures of the independent Chechen state should be disbanded... MORE