In the September 11 issue of Moskovski komsomolets, Aleksandr Khinshtein published a version of the Beslan events with details that apparently have not appeared elsewhere. He was vague about his sources, whom he simply called "eyewitnesses and participants," but his article took a favorable view... MORE

It is becoming increasingly difficult to doubt that there were connections between the June raid in Ingushetia and the Beslan attack—despite the latter's far harsher tactics. Grani.ru on September 9 quoted sources in the Russian security agencies as saying that the weapons used by the... MORE

Last week's political demonstrations "against terrorism," both in Moscow and in the North Ossetia capital of Vladikavkaz, were somewhat similar to Soviet-era rallies—planned and organized by the government itself for the purpose of showcasing support for its own policies. This was especially true of the... MORE

Vladimir Putin has not inspired greater confidence in himself or in his government by his response to the Beslan crisis, but he has won more freedom of maneuver to use even harsher methods against the Chechen separatists and their supporters. Such would seem to be... MORE

Last week's vague threats by Russia's defense establishment to launch pre-emptive attacks against foreign terrorist bases may be intended to lay the groundwork for military strikes, or at least heightened political pressure, against Georgia. Ivan Yartsev observed in a September 10 commentary for the Politcom.ru... MORE

The "local" vigilantes whose gunfire helped cause the Beslan hostage standoff to explode out of control on September 3 included visitors who were not local at all, according to a respected Chechen journalist who was at the scene as a researcher/producer for a Japanese television... MORE

Were the Beslan explosions and gunbattle of September 3 accidental? Eyewitness Rustam Kaliev told Chechnya Weekly that in his view the terrorists must have studied carefully the Nord-Ost experience of 2002, and therefore determined to thwart a surprise assault by planning in advance that each... MORE

Evasion of responsibility by Russia's highest officials continues to be a theme in the study of the Beslan disaster. Rustam Kaliev stressed to Chechnya Weekly that none of the federal ministers, such as the heads of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Interior Ministry,... MORE

Ruslan Aushev, former president of Ingushetia, continued to contradict the official version of the Beslan atrocity in an interview with the Interfax news agency published on September 28. Aushev said that the terrorists did indeed present written demands—on a sheet from a school notebook. Among... MORE

Many of the experts who spoke to Chechnya Weekly, including those sympathetic to Aslan Maskhadov, have now concluded that his political strength among his fellow Chechens has fallen sharply. Svetlana Gannushkina of Memorial said that "for a long time now Maskhadov has not had much... MORE