General Arkady Yedelev, head of the Regional Operations Headquarters for the Anti-Terrorist Operation, said on March 19 that a delegation of officials from the G8 would visit Chechnya to study Russia’s counter-terrorism experience in the North Caucasus, Interfax reported on March 19. “Our measures to... MORE

- YEDELEV SAYS ONLY 450 REBELS ARE LEFT Kavkazky Uzel, on March 19, quoted General Arkady Yedelev, head of the Regional Operations Headquarters for the Anti-Terrorist Operation, as telling reporters in Grozny that rebel forces in Chechnya currently consist of 37 armed groups totaling 450... MORE

On March 8, the first regularly scheduled civilian passenger flight since 1999 arrived at Severny airport near Grozny, Chechnya’s capital. This airport was completely ruined during the intensive hostilities in the republic. The Russian authorities have used this event to characterize the situation in the... MORE

While internet video-sharing sites like YouTube continue to be dominated by a sea of pop music videos and a vast assortment of odd people recording themselves doing even odder things, they are also becoming home to a large number of videos emerging from the political... MORE

The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) issued a statement on March 13 concerning the situation in Chechnya. The CPT said that during its most recent trips to Chechnya, in April/May and September 2006,... MORE

Umar Khambiev, who was Chechnya’s health minister under Aslan Maskhadov and subsequently represented the government of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI) abroad, arrived on March 13 in Italy - where, Gazeta reported on March 14, he plans to seek political asylum. According to... MORE

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov and Eduard Petrukhin, the deputy director of the Federal Penal Jurisdiction Service (FSIN), reached an agreement on March 14 allowing Chechens who are serving terms in Russian prisons outside Chechnya to return to the republic to serve out their sentences. On... MORE

On March 13, Gazeta.ru reported that a poll by the independent Levada Center found that only 33 percent of Russians believe that Ramzan Kadyrov can be trusted while 35 percent believe he cannot be trusted. Another 32 percent of the respondents said they were not... MORE

The widow and children of Aslan Maskhadov, the former Chechen president and rebel leader who was killed by security forces on March 8, 2005, issued an appeal calling for the return of the slain leader’s body. Citing the separatist Chechenpress news agency, on March 10... MORE

Itar-Tass reported that two officers with the Dagestani branch of the Federal Security Service (FSB) were killed on March 14 when unidentified gunmen fired on their car with automatic weapons in the city of Khasavyurt. Police found a total of 80 submachine gun shell casings... MORE