Latest North Caucasus Weekly Articles
Dokku Umarov: Between Jihad and the Struggle for Freedom
Last summer, following the death of Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev in Chechnya, the successor to Aslan Maskhadov as the Chechen rebel leader, senior field commander Dokku Umarov, became the top leader of the Chechen and the North Caucasian insurgency. When Shamil Basaev died in Ingushetia last July,... MORE
RAMZAN: I’LL SERVE IF THE PEOPLE DEMAND IT
Ramzan Kadyrov has again insisted that he does not want to become Chechnya’s president but will do so if the people demand it. According to the Associated Press, Kadyrov told reporters in Gudermes on September 27 that he was not ready to become president “because... MORE
KIDNAPPINGS IN CHECHNYA: FEWER, BUT MANY GO UNREPORTED
Chechen President Alu Alkhanov said on September 26 that the number of kidnappings in Chechnya has dropped significantly. “Unfortunately, cases of kidnapping continue to take place,” Interfax quoted him as saying during a press conference in Grozny. “But in speaking about this, it is necessary... MORE
REBEL ATTACKS ON THE RISE IN CHECHNYA
Rebel attacks have increased in Chechnya over the last week. Interfax reported on September 28 that a police officer was killed and another wounded in an attack by “members of illegal armed groups.” The news agency quoted a Chechen Interior Ministry source as saying that... MORE
BRIEFS
--KOZAK VOWS TO PREVENT FUTURE CHECHEN-INGUSH VIOLENCE The Russian presidential envoy to the Southern Federal District, Dmitry Kozak, said on September 25 that those responsible for the September 13 shootout between Ingush and Chechen police on the administrative border between the two republics would face... MORE
The Increasingly Deadly Struggle for Power between Kadyrov and Alkhanov
The statements made by the pro-Moscow Chechen leaders Alu Alkhanov and Ramzan Kadyrov are becoming ever more comical as the two leaders consistently contradict each other while addressing the same issues. The complex relationship between the head of the pro-Moscow government, Ramzan Kadyrov, and the... MORE
KREMLIN INTRODUCES PLAN FOR AMNESTYING REBELS
The Kremlin on September 18 asked the State Duma to approve an amnesty plan for militants in Chechnya and other republics of the North Caucasus. The Associated Press, citing Itar-Tass, quoted the chairman of the Duma committee on criminal legislation, Pavel Krasheninnikov, as saying that... MORE
CHECHEN-INGUSH POLICE SHOOTOUT CONTINUES TO REVERBERATE
Memorial released a statement on September 16 concerning the gun battle that took place between Chechen OMON police commandos and Ingush police on the administrative border between Chechnya and Ingushetia on September 13, in which eight people died–up from the original reported death toll of... MORE
MILITANTS CAPTURED AND POLICE WOUNDED IN INGUSHETIA
Eight militants were captured in a special operation in the city of Malgobek in Ingushetia on September 21, during which five policemen were wounded, Newsru.com reported. Security forces blockaded the militants in a private home, but were fired on by accomplices of the rebels. “The... MORE