On May 28, a two-day session of the Parliamentary Assembly of NATO (PA NATO) was held in Vilnius, Lithuania. More than 800 persons attended the session-members of NATO and associated states, as well as persons with observer status. On the first day of the meeting,... MORE

On 1 June, Colonel General Gennady Troshev, commander of the North Caucasus Military District, informed the official Russian news agency Itar-Tass that, in his opinion, peace would be restored more quickly in Chechnya if a reward were offered for the capture of the rebel leaders.... MORE

Gadzhi Makhachev, an elected deputy to the Russian State Duma from Dagestan and a leader of the Avar people, warned in an interview that the Chechen conflict was beginning politically to destabilize Dagestan (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, May 26). "You know," he remarked, "not long ago a... MORE

As was recently underscored by Alla Vlazneva, official spokeswoman for the pro-Moscow prime minister of Chechnya, Stanislav Il'yasov, the pro-Moscow leadership now insists that all of the estimated 150,000-160,000 Chechen refugees currently living in neighboring Ingushetia must return to their home republic by the end... MORE

Two recent events sparked an apparent crisis in relations between the pro-Moscow Chechen administration and Russian military forces based in Chechnya. On June 4, the military conducted a "mopping up operation" in Djohar (Grozny) during which they halted at checkpoints the pro-Moscow heads of Chechen... MORE

Speaking at a hearing conducted by the Russian State Duma on June 4, Lord Frank Judd of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) confided that European parliamentarians had been "inspired" by the announced intention of the Russian authorities to reduce the number... MORE

In an interview published on June 4 in the newspaper Izvestia, General Gennady Troshev, commander of the North Caucasus Military District, called for the public execution of Chechen terrorists. "Yes, I am for the death penalty for Chechen rebels!" he exclaimed. "The most torturous execution... MORE

On June 3, NTV reported that humanitarian aid from both international and Russian charitable organizations is arriving in Djohar (Grozny) almost every day. Twice a week, the staff of the Russian military commandant's office in Leninsky District of the capital is assigned to escort these... MORE

International observers from the OSCE mission in Georgia have reopened their observation post in the Georgian mountain village of Girevi on the border with Chechnya. The post was temporarily closed for the winter. During the winter, only two monitoring posts were open on the Chechen... MORE