Kavkazky Uzel reported on July 4 that the “armed formations of the separatists” have become noticeably more active in recent days, with armed clashes between the rebels and security forces taking place in Chechnya’s mountains and foothills. “In Chechnya, rumors are actively being spread that... MORE

On June 26, an impressive delegation of foreign diplomats visited Chechnya. There were representatives of 31 countries in the delegation, including 20 foreign ambassadors to Russia. What was notable about this visit was that they were representatives of Muslim countries and organizations, such as the... MORE

Yesterday’s report about the killing of Ruslan Gidzhiev, a person that the Kremlin is portraying to the Western media as the "spiritual leader of the group Yarmuk," once again highlights a need to explore the makeup, aims, and origins of the insurgent group operating in... MORE

Over the past several years, the arrival of summer in Chechnya has seen Ramzan Kadyrov’s triumphant declarations about life in the region as the perfect give-away to the alarming reports about the growing hostilities. This year has been no exception. Since May, reports about daily... MORE

- Dagestani Police Break Up Protest by Borozdinovskaya Refugees Newsru.com reported on June 26 that police in the Dagestani town of Kizlyar forcibly dispersed several hundred former residents of the village of Borozdinovskaya in Chechnya’s Shatoi district, who fled the village following a July 2005... MORE

The Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement that Ruslan Odizhev, a former inmate at the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was killed on June 27 in a shootout with security agents in Kabardino-Balkaria, the Associated Press reported. According to the FSB,... MORE

A group of relatives of the victims of the September 2004 Beslan tragedy have filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, charging that their rights to life, to an objective investigation and to an effective legal defense as set... MORE

Russian authorities were up in arms over the fact that Akhmed Zakaev, the London-based foreign minister of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI), attended a session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg, France, on June 27. Kommersant reported... MORE

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov is vowing to crack down on corruption. Yet according to the Kavkazky Uzel website, Chechens are skeptical that his anti-corruption push will amount to anything. ITAR-Tass reported on June 18 that Kadyrov had ordered the creation of a special commission to... MORE

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, ruled on June 21 that the Russian authorities were responsible for the 2003 killing of Zura Bitieva, her husband, one of their sons and her brother, and ordered the Russian government to pay Bitieva’s daughter, who... MORE