The influence of Islamic extremism is growing among the rebel guerrillas, one of the most seasoned journalists specializing in the Chechen wars has concluded from a recent visit to rebel strongholds in Chechnya's southern highlands. Andrei Babitsky of Radio Liberty spent five days with the... MORE

Two weeks after the August 1 terrorist bombing of the Mozdok military hospital, there is still only one person who has been formally arrested. He is Dr. Artur Arakelyan, the hospital's chief doctor, who has been accused of criminal negligence. However, most of Arakelyan's colleagues... MORE

A source in the Kadyrov administration told the Associated Press on August 16 that some fifteen federal soldiers had been killed and another forty wounded in attacks by separatist guerrillas over the previous twenty-four hours. In one gun battle, the rebels raided a military headquarters... MORE

The mainstream Moscow media are intensifying their accusations that "former" rebel fighters now serving in the Kadyrov administration's police continue to cooperate with the separatist guerrillas. According an article by Nikolai Yakorev in the August 14 issue of Nezavisimaya gazeta, a force of about twenty... MORE

Why have so few rebel guerrillas taken advantage of the amnesty offered by the Putin administration? The experience of one village in the southern highlands is revealing. Zulai Visingirieva, head of the village of Ulus-Kert, persuaded all the young men in the community who had... MORE

Several leading Chechens have criticized what some call the "black P.R." of Chechen state television, which has given free reign to pro-Kadyrov propaganda while excluding critics such as Aslan Aslakhanov. This is despite the fact that Aslakhanov represents Chechnya in the federal Duma. To cite... MORE

According to a Chechen human rights activist cited by Zoya Svetova of the newspaper Russky kurier on August 18, about 100 troops of Kadyrov's personal army recently took up positions in the west Chechen town of Achkhoi-Martan. The activist said that the Kadyrov gunmen clashed... MORE

Will the Kremlin use Chechnya's October 5 presidential election to rid itself of the troublesome Akhmad Kadyrov? The August holiday period, often a time for behind the scenes political maneuvering in Moscow, has seen the anti-Kadyrov forces within the Putin administration gaining confidence. Several prominent... MORE

As of August 12, reports from the Russian authorities regarding their efforts to solve the August 1 terrorist bombing in Mozdok continued to be full of assurances--but these assurances remained noticeably vague. Aleksandr Savenkov, Russia's top military prosecutor, told journalists on August 12 that the... MORE

On August 8 the U.S. State Department published in the Federal Register an official determination that Shamil Basaev "has committed, or poses a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy... MORE