In a three-part series published May 24-26, Moskovsky komsomolets shed new light on the Beslan hostage tragedy based on investigative documents and testimony from officials who were involved in the hostage-seizure and its bloody aftermath. Among other things, the newspaper presented evidence confirming earlier reports... MORE

Security forces in Dagestan on May 29 discovered 23 152- and 125-milimeters artillery shells near the entrance of the Gimri tunnel, which links the valley and mountainous part of the republic's Buinaksk region. Earlier in the day, the head of the Buinaksk Regional Criminal Investigations... MORE

During a visit to Germany in the first week of May, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered an upbeat assessment of the situation in Chechnya and of the future prospects for peace and stability in that region. "I don't see any problems [in Chechnya]," Putin stated... MORE

--PUTIN CONCERNED ABOUT CAUCASUS EXODUS President Vladimir Putin expressed concern over the exodus of the Russian-speaking population from the North Caucasus during a May 25 meeting of Cossack leaders in Rostov Oblast. "As for the exodus of the Russian population from the North Caucasus, it... MORE

Thousands of people gathered in the Chechen capital Friday of Grozny on May 20 to protest the acquittal of GRU Captain Eduard Ulman and three subordinates on charges of murdering six Chechen civilians in January 2002. According to Agence France-Presse, some 3,000 people, including young... MORE

Dagestan's minister of nationalities, information and external affairs, Zagir Arukhov, was killed by an explosion in his apartment building in Makhachkala on May 20 after arriving home from work. RIA Novosti reported on May 21 that his bodyguard, Serif Minafov, was badly wounded in the... MORE

The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) on May 19 issued a report "Impunity: A Leading Force behind Continued Massive Violations in Chechnya." The report, which was posted on the Vienna-based group's website (ihf-hr.org), stated that despite claims by Chechen and Russian Federation officials... MORE

A group of Russian human rights activists signed an open letter calling for negotiations with the Chechen rebels. "The Russian authorities, by way of resolving the Chechen crisis, have for several years now been suggesting only a combination of punitive military operations, direct terror by... MORE

Meanwhile, Akhmed Zakaev, the London-based Chechen separatist special representative, told the Chechenpress website on May 19 that "the right way of approaching peace in Chechnya is to expand resistance to the occupying forces." "Praise be to the Almighty, Russia will have to pay for the... MORE

--THE FIGHTING IN CHECHNYA GOES ON… Russian troops killed two rebel fighters guarding a rebel base in Chechnya's Vedeno district, Radio Liberty's Russian-language service reported on May 24. In Grozny that same day, police discovered and defused a large explosive device on the grounds of... MORE