Latest North Caucasus Weekly Articles
Putin Decorates Zyazikov for “Services to the Fatherland”
President Vladimir Putin signed a decree awarding Ingushetia’s president, Murat Zyazikov, an Order “For Services to the Fatherland,” third degree, Newsru.com reported on February 26. The press service of Ingushetia’s president said Zyazikov had been awarded for his “large contribution to the republic’s socio-economic development... MORE
Chechens and Ingush Mark Anniversary of Stalin’s Deportation
February 23 marked the 64th anniversary of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin’s mass deportation of the Chechen and Ingush people to Central Asia. Prague Watchdog reported on February 23 that ceremonies in memory of the deportation were held that day in Chechnya, Ingushetia, Moscow and several... MORE
KBR Interior Minister: Republic’s Militants Well-Organized and Trained
Bomb disposal experts with the Interior Ministry for the Southern Federal District's counter-terrorist Center 'T' defused a large bomb in a wooded area three kilometers outside the village of Babugent in the Cherkesk district of the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic (KBR), Kavkazky Uzel reported on February 28.... MORE
Why Are Ingushetia’s Rebels so Successful?
Out of all the regions of the North Caucasus, Ingushetia is focused on most today. People inside and outside Russia have different versions for why the situation in this republic has become so unstable even compared with “hot” regions such as Chechnya or Dagestan. Many... MORE
Ingushetia Spins Further Out of Control
For some time now, bad news coming out of Ingushetia has been treated as “business as usual”: reports of explosions, arrests and assassinations have become a trademark of this North Caucasus region. In part, this is reminiscent of the earlier times in Chechnya, but the... MORE
Kadyrov Meets with Memorial Activists
Members of the Memorial human rights group met with Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov on February 22. Kavkazky Uzel on February 28 quoted the chairman of the board of the Memorial human rights center, Oleg Orlov, as saying of that a "mutual point of view" had... MORE
Rebel Hierarchy Changes in the Wake of Umarov’s Emirate Decree
Dokka Umarov's infamous announcement declaring the formation of a new state structure, the Emirate, has been followed recently by a period of reflection and correcting the errors made by the rebel leader as a result of hasty concessions to the demands of Anzor Astemirov (aka... MORE
Kadyrov Expands His Influence in Moscow
In order to avoid a potential weakening of his position after the next president of the Russian Federation takes office, Ramzan Kadyrov has been working to boost his influence in Moscow by installing his people in Russia’s power apparatus. (As in Soviet times, the identity... MORE
Dagestan’s Expanding Insurgency
On February 4, President Vladimir Putin visited Botlikh, a mountain town in the Caucasian republic of Dagestan where the 33rd Motorized Infantry Brigade Highland is deployed. Botlikh has a special personal symbolic meaning for Putin: his rise to power started there in August 1999 when... MORE
Briefs
- Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Welcome's Kosovo's Declaration of Independence The Chechenpress news agency on February 18 published a statement by Usman Ferzauli, foreign minister of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI), welcoming "the declaration of state independence by the Kosovo territory" and adding... MORE