Latest North Caucasus Weekly Articles
Medvedev and Kadyrov: The Start of a Beautiful Friendship?
Kavkazky Uzel, citing the press service of the Chechen president and government, reported on April 2 that President-elect Dmitry Medvedev and Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov met and discussed issues related to the socio-economic development of the Chechen Republic. Forum.msk.ru reported that the meeting took place... MORE
The Chechen Diaspora in Russia
The Chechen Diaspora in Russia is the most numerous of all Chechen communities spread around the world outside of Chechnya. According to the official results of Russia’s 2002 census, 1.1 million out of 1,360,253 Chechens resided in Chechnya, while 260,000 were living in other regions... MORE
Interior Troops Commander Reports a “Surge in Militant Activity”
RIA Novosti quoted the commander of Russia's Interior Troops, General Nikolai Rogozhkin, as saying on March 27 that his forces and those of the Federal Security Service (FSB) killed some 50 militants in the North Caucasus last year. "In 2007, the Federal Security Service and... MORE
Bombings, Shootings and Abductions Continue to Plague Ingushetia
A car bomb exploded outside a bank in Nazran, Ingushetia, on March 24, injuring at least five people. According to the Associated Press, the bomb went off beneath a Mercedes parked on a central street in Nazran when a police officer used a remote control... MORE
Dagestani Journalists, Police and Young People Victims of Violence
Gadzhi Abashilov, the head of GTRK Dagestan, the Dagestani affiliate of Russia’s state television and radio company, was killed in a drive-by shooting as he traveled home from work in Dagestan’s capital, Makhachkala, on March 21. His driver was seriously injured in the attack. Just... MORE
The Kremlin Ponders What to Do with Zyazikov
On March 14, the presidium of Russia’s governing political party, United Russia, dismissed Ingush President Murat Zyazikov from the post of the party’s regional leader. Andrei Vorobyev, the chairman of United Russia’s Central Executive Committee, explained this decision by the fact that the Ingush leader... MORE
Dmitry Medvedev’s Chechnya Policy
The so-called elections of March 2, which endorsed Dmitry Medvedev as the next Russian leader, were less about whether or not he will be president (that decision had already been made personally by President Vladimir Putin and a small team of his associates who, in... MORE
Zyazikov Allies Try to Strike at Critical Media—but Fail
Deputies in Ingushetia’s People’s Assembly issued an appeal on March 18 that called for broadcasts by REN-TV to the republic to be halted and described the presence of the privately-owned channel’s journalists in the republic as “undesirable,” Kavkazky Uzel reported. The appeal, which was addressed... MORE
At Least 10 People Reportedly Killed in Chechen Village Battle
Chechen rebel, pro-Moscow government and independent sources alike reported on March 19-20 that a large-scale battle had taken place in the village of Alkhazurovo in Chechnya's Urus-Martan district. Kavkazky Uzel reported on March 20 that the battle had taken place the previous evening and that... MORE