An incident that took place in Chechnya on March 24 has raised tensions between the government of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov and federal forces in the republic and, perhaps more importantly, has given fresh impetus to the Chechen leader’s push to monopolize power in the... MORE

Kavkazky Uzel, on March 28, quoted Oleg Khabibrakhmanov, head of the Inter-regional Department of the Committee Against Torture, as saying that based upon information that it had provided to the Chechen parliament last month, the Chechen prosecutor’s office has begun to look into the failure... MORE

Russian news agencies reported on March 23 that Uruskhan Zyazikov, the 72-year-old uncle of Ingush President Murat Zyazikov, has been kidnapped. Nazir Yevloev, a spokesman for the Ingush Interior Ministry, told RIA Novosti that four unidentified assailants attacked Uruskhan Zyazikov and his relatives, who were... MORE

- Death of Rebel Field Commander Confirmed The separatist Kavkaz-Center website on March 23 confirmed that the commander of the rebel’s northeastern front, Takhir Bataev, aka Amir Takhir, was killed in a battle with “armed infidels and hypocrites” in Gudermes on March 21. Meanwhile, the... MORE

Chechnya has recently witnessed several important personnel changes among both the members of the resistance movement and the pro-Kremlin rulers of the republic. By nominating Ramzan Kadyrov to the position of Chechen president, Vladimir Putin demonstrated his commitment to the policy of “Chechenization.” The freshly... MORE

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said on March 21 that the issue of signing a treaty delimiting powers between Chechnya and the federal center is currently not relevant, Newsru.com reported. “We don’t have the need for such a treaty,” Kadyrov told journalists, adding that if the... MORE

The head of the Chechen Election Commission, Ismail Baikhanov, announced on March 17 that the republic would hold a referendum to amend the constitution before the end of this year. Kommersant reported on March 19 that according to its information, the changes to the constitution... MORE

On March 21, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov met in Moscow with more than 100 leaders of the Chechen community living in other parts of Russia. Kommersant reported on March 22 that the community leaders expressed “full support” for Kadyrov, who promised to complete Chechnya’s reconstruction... MORE

Kommersant reported on March 22 that during his meeting in Moscow the previous day with leaders of Chechen communities from around Russia, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov criticized the Russian media, which, he said, “continues to replicate a bad image of the Chechen.” (According to Kommersant,... MORE

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov continued his campaign against ORB-2, an operative-investigative unit of the Southern Federal District’s main Interior Ministry department that operates in Chechnya. Kadyrov, along with human rights activists and alleged victims, have accused ORB-2 of using torture. “The situation at the operative... MORE