Latest North Caucasus Weekly Articles
Briefs
- Kadyrov Orders His Portraits Taken Down, Again Reuters reported on January 23 that Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, acting to "tone down a personality cult," told people to take down his portraits from public places. "Many people post photographs for their personal aims, to attract... MORE
No Letup in Shootings and Bombings in Ingushetia
Two servicemen were killed and three wounded in Ingushetia on January 23 when the car in which they were traveling came under fire, Kavkazky Uzel reported. The incident took place as the servicemen were returning to their post in the village of Troitskaya. The attackers... MORE
Chechen Government Sues the Army Over Use of Land
Nezavisimaya Gazeta military analyst Vladimir Mukhin wrote in the newspaper’s January 22 edition that Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has been consistently "limiting the federal center’s possibilities in the republic.” Having taken control of the republic’s Interior Ministry units and the redistribution of federal financial flowing... MORE
Kadyrov Promises Victory By Winter’s End
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov vowed on January 22 that all of the rebels currently located in Chechnya will be eliminated by the end of the winter, Kavazky Uzel reported on January 23. "I am certain that this winter will become, for those who continue to... MORE
2007 Summed Up: Ichkeria Gets the Emirate
After deliberating for a year and a half, Chechen resistance leader Dokka Umarov, who took over after the assassination of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI) leaders Aslan Maskhadov and Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev, announced his support for building an Islamic state, which in Umarov’s mind includes not... MORE
Astemirov Strikes Back: Background and Implications of the Kyarov Assassination in Kabardino-Balkaria
Before his assassination in Nalchik last Saturday (see Eurasia Daily Monitor, January 14), Colonel Anatoly Kyarov was in charge of a special unit that targeted the leader of the Kabardino-Balkarian section of the Caucasus front Anzor Astemirov (aka Seifullah). Kyarov’s unit was an independent operation,... MORE
Briefs
- Russia Ordered to Pay Compensation for Murdering Ingushetia Residents The Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights on January 17 ordered Russia to pay 109,150 euros (around $160,000) in damages and court costs to seven relatives of two residents of Ingushetia, Khalid Khatsiyev and Kazbek... MORE
Alkhanov: 72 Rebels Killed in Chechnya Last Year
Chechen Interior Minister Ruslan Alkhanov said on January 16 that 72 militants, including 11 leaders of armed groups, were killed in special operations in Chechnya in 2007, RIA Novosti reported. Law enforcement bodies in Chechnya last year arrested 32 militants and one head of an... MORE
Memorial: Chechnya Rights Situation Improved, But Society Shows “Totalitarian” Signs
According to the Memorial human rights group, the human rights situation in Chechnya has improved but much remains to be done to stabilize the situation in the republic. Interfax on January 15 quoted Memorial's chairman, Oleg Orlov, as telling a Moscow press conference that there... MORE
Makhachkala in the New Year: Power Cuts and a Shootout
Police and security forces laid siege to an apartment on the outskirts of Dagestan's capital, Makhachkala, on January 13-14, killing three suspected militants, the Moscow Times reported on January 15. Deputy Makhachkala police chief Shamil Guseinov said a gun battle broke out late on January... MORE