The Chechen issue seriously intruded into relations between Russia and Georgia over the past week, and the U.S. State Department was required once again to issue a warning to Russia to respect Georgian sovereignty. In a piece entitled "Artillery Diplomacy," Kommersant reported on August 1:... MORE

There was some doubt as to whether the sharp clashes with rebels coming from Georgia that Moscow claimed had taken place in Itum-Kale District had in fact occurred, at least in the way in which they had been described. When correspondent Said Bitsoev of Novye... MORE

The August 2 issue of Vremya Novostei reported that, on the previous day, "the commander of the Russian paratroops, Georgy Shpak, declared directly that the paratroops, if they are given a command, are prepared to conduct a special operation in the Pankisi Gorge to neutralize... MORE

On July 31, Philip T. Reeker, Deputy Spokesman for the U.S. Department of State, had underlined in Washington: "As we've made clear previously, the United States strongly supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia. We would therefore be seriously concerned to learn of any... MORE

On July 29, a congress entitled "Women of Chechnya for Peace" was held in Nazran, Ingushetia. A number of Chechen human rights and public organizations, such as "LAM" and "Echo of War," participated, as did representatives of the Russian human rights center Memorial and the... MORE

In an article entitled, "To Return: A Bad Omen," which appeared in the 2 August issue of the website Grani.ru, journalist Ivan Sventsitsky shared his impression of a recent trip to Nazran, Ingushetia at the invitation of the Chechen human rights center "LAM." He was... MORE

On August 1, four French-based international humanitarian NGOs, Medecins du Monde [Doctors of the World], Medecins sans Frontieres [Doctors without Borders-the Nobel-Prize-winning organization], Action Contre la Faim [Action against Hunger], and La Federation Internationale des Ligues des Droits de l'Homme [International Federation of Leagues for... MORE

In an article entitled "A Real Rapist,' which caused something of a political stir in Russia, two journalists, Nastya Lyrchikova and Marat Khairullin, wrote in the July 31 issue of Moskovsky Komsomolets that "the chief witness in the [Colonel Yury] Budanov case has admitted to... MORE

An article in the August 2 issue of Novye Izvestia, written by journalist Vladimir Urban, focused on the newly named commander of the Combined Group of Russian Forces in Chechnya, Lieutenant General Sergei Makarov, who had just replaced Colonel General Vladimir Moltenskoi, who was rather... MORE

On July 30, Aslambek Aslakhanov, the elected Russian State Duma representative from Chechnya, gave a talk at the Carnegie Endowment in Washington. Aslakhanov began his talk by noting that he had had meetings in the capital with U.S. government officials who exhibited "great knowledge of... MORE