Latest North Caucasus Weekly Articles
Ingushetian Opposition Leaders Arrested
Ingushetian Deputy Interior Minister Vadim Selivanov announced on February 14 that one of the main organizers of the abortive January 26 opposition demonstration in Nazran, Maksharip Aushev, had been detained and taken along with his brother-in-law Magomed Yevloev, who was detained earlier, to a detention... MORE
Kadyrov Calls for Another Amnesty
Speaking to members of the Chechen parliament in Grozny on February 20, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said that he was in favor of offering a new amnesty for members of "illegal armed formations," Kavkazky Uzel reported. Kadyrov said that previous amnesties had "contributed to the... MORE
What’s Behind Putin’s Plan for a Botlikh-Georgia Highway?
Translated from the Avar language, Botlikh means “a place where the army stopped.” On the Kremlin’s initiative, this small village in the Dagestani mountains and home to 10,397 ethnic Avars has been transformed into the key military stronghold on Russia’s southern border. President Vladimir Putin... MORE
Dagestan Also Plagued By Insurgent Attacks and Kidnappings
Itar-Tass reported on February 12 that a Federal Security Service (FSB) officer was killed and a policeman was wounded in a battle with militants blockaded in a private house in the village of Sasatli in Dagestan's Babayurt region. A source in the Dagestani Interior Ministry's... MORE
Leaflets in Ingushetia Threaten Gaming Hall Owners with Death
Ingushetiya.ru reported on February 12 that leaflets had appeared in markets, bus stops and central streets in towns and villages around the republic warning that after March 1, drug dealers and owners of gaming establishments will be killed. The report quoted the leaflets as saying:... MORE
Memorial Releases Report on Ingushetia’s Vicious Circle
Ingushetiya.ru reported on February 14 that unidentified gunmen attacked the personal bodyguard unit of Ingushetia's president, Murat Zyazikov. According to the opposition website, 11 members of Zyazikov's bodyguard detail were injured when they were fired on with automatic weapons and grenade launchers in the village... MORE
Putin: United Russia Really Did Win 99 Percent of Chechen Votes
President Vladimir Putin touched on the situation in Chechnya and more generally in the North Caucasus during his final annual press conference as Russia's head of state on February 14. According to the ANN news agency, Putin said it is no longer possible to compare... MORE
Police and Protesters Clash Again in Nazran
OMON riot police on January 26 forcibly dispersed protesters who gathered in Nazran to protest the policies and actions of the administration of Ingushetia's president, Murat Zyazikov. Kommersant reported on January 28 that while the demonstration's organizers officially billed it as being "in support of... MORE
Gunmen Shoot Up Home of Zyazikov’s Chief Bodyguard
On February 6, unknown attackers fired automatic weapons and grenade launchers at the home of Khusein Medov, the head of Ingushetian President Murat Zyazikov's personal bodyguards. An anonymous source in Ingushetia's "power structures" told Kavkazky Uzel that the attack took place on the evening of... MORE