Relations between Akhmad Kadyrov and the Kremlin seem ever more to be like those that existed before the rise of the modern state between a medieval baron and a royal court. The baron has his own private army, which like him is ostensibly loyal to... MORE

In what has become a familiar pattern, Russian security agencies began blaming Chechens for the latest terrorist attack in Moscow almost before the dust had settled. President Putin announced that the July 5 bombing of a rock concert in the northwestern suburb of Tushino not... MORE

The Russian Defense Ministry has apparently succeeded in ridding itself of a whistle blowing forensics expert who had made himself a hero to the relatives of soldiers fighting in Chechnya. Colonel Vladimir Shcherbakov and his laboratory, based in Rostov on the Don, specialized in identifying... MORE

AN INSIDER'S VIEW OF THE "ZACHISTKI" Though much is now known about it, the "unofficial" prison system operated by federal forces in Chechnya remains in many ways a mystery. A recent analysis by Aleksandr Cherkasov of the Moscow-based human rights organization Memorial brought together several... MORE

Contradicting reports by human-rights advocates that "zachistki" security sweeps have significantly decreased this year, Chechens from the village of Gikalo, about three miles south of Grozny, launched a protest rally that began in that village on June 27 and continued on June 30 in front... MORE

The Kremlin has officially announced that Sunday, October 5, has been set as the date of Chechnya's presidential election. That early date (almost as early as possible under the new pro-Moscow constitution, which requires an interval of at least six months after the constitutional referendum)... MORE

A Chechen journalist employed by Agence France-Presse has been kidnapped in Ingushetia. Unidentified gunmen seized Ali Astamirov on July 4 from the car of Radio Liberty journalist Aslambek Dadaev, who was giving his colleague a ride home. The gunmen stole the mobile phones of both... MORE

Moscow's beleaguered human rights advocates are keeping open minds about the death on July 2 of one of their heroes, Duma member Yury Shchekochikhin. The outspoken critic of the war in Chechnya, who also served as deputy editor of Novaya gazeta, suffered a serious allergic... MORE

The July 5 terrorist attack on the Tushino rock concert included another demonstration of the low value that today's Russia places on individual human lives. The authorities chose not to end the performances or even to inform the audience until after the concert was over,... MORE

Since the official Kremlin line insists that Russia's military operations are succeeding in the pacification of Chechnya, it is difficult for Russia's generals to discuss candidly in public the precise reasons why their operations are in fact failing. The June 20 issue of Nezavisimoe voennoe... MORE