Kommersant wrote on January 25 that Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov’s elevation to the post of the republic’s president may be imminent. The newspaper reported that Kadyrov had ordered a “comprehensive check” of all of the republic’s ministries and agencies and started reshuffling posts in... MORE

Members of a delegation from the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) who were in Moscow this week to push for more aggressive investigations into the murder of Russian journalists, and particularly Anna Politkovskaya, raised eyebrows when they claimed they were told by Foreign... MORE

Kommersant reported on January 24 that Russia’s Foreign Ministry had told the delegation from the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that an investigation was conducted in Chechnya in connection to several Interior Ministry officers who had appeared in four videos allegedly showing Chechen... MORE

On January 23, Russia’s Supreme Court ruled to uphold the Nizhegorod Oblast Court’s decision of last October 13 to support the closure of the Nizhny Novgorod-based Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (ORChD) by the regional prosecutor’s office, (Chechnya Weekly, October 19, 2006). The Supreme Court, Interfax noted,... MORE

- EUROPEAN HR COURT FINDS RUSSIAN MILITARY GUILTY OF TORTURE The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled on January 18 that the Russian military tortured two Chechen brothers held in detention in 2000, the first such conviction of Russian servicemen, Reuters reported. Adam... MORE

Last year was a fairly successful one for Ramzan Kadyrov, even though his main goal – to become the republic’s president – has remained unmet. The conditions within the republic are such, however, that none can doubt that Kadyrov is the only man in charge.... MORE

The Russian government’s amnesty for rebels in Chechnya and elsewhere in the North Caucasus, announced last July by Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Nikolai Patrushev acting in his capacity as head of the National Anti-Terrorist Committee (NAK), expired on January 15. Estimates varied regarding how... MORE

Predictably, Federation Council deputy chairman and NAK member Aleksandr Torshin, like many Russian officials and members of the pro-Moscow administration, hailed the amnesty as a success. “We can already say that, compared to the previous amnesty campaigns, this one proved to be the most effective,... MORE

The bi-weekly newspaper Novaya gazeta ran an article on January 11 entitled, “Zapasnye Organy” (Spare Organs), which claimed that Russia’s special services had created secret structures under the cover of private security firms and special services’ veterans groups to carry out assassinations. The article’s author,... MORE

- MEDVEDEV OPTIMISTIC ABOUT CHECHNYA’S DEVELOPMENT During a meeting with journalists in the Southern Federal District on January 17, First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that the social and economic situation in Chechnya in 2006 gives reason for moderate optimism, ITAR-TASS reported. Asked about... MORE