mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which had come to Grozny to visit Chechen citizens who had earlier written to the OSCE, came under automatic weapons fire on July 22 in the Staropromyslovsky District of the capital. "The criminals used automatic... MORE

Citing the newspaper of the Russian military commandants' offices of Chechnya, Vozrozhdenie Respubliki [Rebirth of the Republic], Interfax-AVN reported on July 23 that "a major purge will be conducted in the ranks of the [pro-Moscow] police of the Chechen Republic in the near future." "The... MORE

On July 23, the newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported that an expanded session of the State Defense Committee of Ichkeria had been held in the Vedeno District of Chechnya during late June and early July. The paper's account was then reproduced verbatim by the pro-Maskhadov website... MORE

In an article entitled "The Arabs Are Coming to an End in Chechnya," which appeared in the July 25 issue of Gazeta.ru, journalist Aleksandr Godin wrote that, according to Colonel Il'ya Shabalkin, "thirty Arabs were destroyed over the past two weeks" in Chechnya. Over the... MORE

On July 19, the newly re-elected president of France, Jacques Chirac, arrived in Sochi for a day of discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin. On this occasion, Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported on July 22, "Chirac did not even hint at any disagreements with Putin on this... MORE

In an article entitled "Dekkushev against Gochiyaev," journalist Ol'ga Pashkova wrote in the July 25 issue of the website Politcom.ru: "Over the past week, two important events occurred that directly touched upon the Moscow bombings of the fall of 1999. In accord with Russian-Georgian agreements,... MORE

The offices of Chechnya Weekly will be closed for the remainder of the month. The next issue will appear on 9 September.

* Russia's citizens weigh in* The Chechen factor* Did Itum-Kale incident happen?* Moscow happy to conduct special operaton* Washington backs Georgia* Choosing between evils* Nothing has changed* Budanov witness admits lying* Perspective: Significance of 1999 bombings NEWS

On July 31, the website Polit.ru reported the results of an "express poll" recently conducted by the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VCIOM). Asked whether Russia should continue the war in Chechnya or begin peace negotiations, 29 percent of respondents favored continuing... MORE