In another hint that he wants to show at least some independence from the Kremlin line, Alu Alkhanov told journalists in Moscow on August 18 that he does not in principle rule out the possibility of negotiations with the underground Maskhadov government. "If Maskhadov wants... MORE

New findings released on August 5 by the Levada.ru website, voice of Russia's most authoritative independent opinion-poll service, show continued long-term erosion in popular support for the war in Chechnya. Nevertheless, that erosion is slow—and in fact, in some ways agreement with the Kremlin's policies... MORE

In another indirect mission that the federal military effort in Chechnya has been a tactical as well as a strategic failure, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on August 17 that it would be changing its methods of fighting the rebel guerrillas. Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov... MORE

The June raid on Ingushetia increasingly seems to be just one instance of the war in Chechnya spreading to neighboring territories. In an August 20 article for Nezavisimaya gazeta, correspondents Andrei Riskin, Maria Bondarenko and Nadezhda Popova concluded that the entire North Caucasus is "swiftly... MORE

Moscow municipal authorities have decided to name a city street for the assassinated Chechen leader Akhmad Kadyrov, according to an Interfax report of August 17. The renaming of the street, located near Moscow's southern boundary, is said by critics to violate a local law against... MORE

In early August, Ilyas Akhmadov, foreign minister in the underground separatist government of Aslan Maskhadov, finally won his long quest for permanent political asylum in the United States. The final breakthrough came with a decision by the U.S. government's executive branch not to appeal an... MORE

The August 29 special election to fill the vacant presidency of Chechnya's pro-Moscow administration produced no surprises. Despite the authorities' efforts to control the flow of information, independent journalists managed to learn enough to make it clear that a high turnout would have been reported... MORE

With Chechnya's latest rigged election now safely behind them, Kremlin decision-makers will now probably pursue a balancing game in their relations with Grozny's pro-Moscow administration—trying to keep in power both Ramzan Kadyrov and the newly "elected" president Alu Alkhanov. That was the prediction of commentator... MORE

The Putin administration's continually tightening controls over the broadcast media have shielded ordinary Russians from sights and sounds that would undermine the Kremlin's own spin about normalization and pacification in Chechnya. But the Kremlin line is still being challenged in the print media, and not... MORE

Trying to take advantage of the mounting tensions between Georgia and Russia, the head of Chechnya's underground separatist government said in a taped interview broadcast last week on the Georgian TV station "Mze" that Georgia had his full support in the conflict over South Ossetia.... MORE