August 2 marked the sixth anniversary of the incursion by Islamic militants led by Shamil Basaev and Khattab into Dagestan, which was one of pretexts for Russia's second military intervention in Chechnya. President Vladimir Putin announced as early as April 2002 that "the military stage... MORE

In March 2005 the Chechen rebel independence movement suffered both the loss of its leader and one of its primary military strategists. Aslan Maskhadov's successor was promptly named as Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev, a 38-year old Shaykh from the city of Argun. Sadulaev, who has limited operational... MORE

The Council of Muftis of the Chechen Republic on August 4 officially declared a jihad against "Wahhabism." Interfax quoted Chechen Mufti Sultan Mirzaev as telling journalists that the decision had been announced during a meeting between representatives of the clergy and law-enforcement agencies in the... MORE

The Chechen Muslim clerics' declaration of an anti-Wahhabi jihad was by no means welcomed unanimously by their fellow Russian Muslim leaders. Gazeta on August 5 quoted Shaykh Nafigulla Ashirov, supreme mufti of the Asian part of Russia, as saying that given the lack of a... MORE

Ingushetia, meanwhile, might follow its neighbor in banning gambling. Moskovsky komsomolets on August 10 quoted Ingushetian President Murat Zyazikov as saying he had received a request from the republic's clergy and social organizations to close down gaming establishments. "If things go much further, there will... MORE

Chechen authorities tightened security around the republic on August 6, the ninth anniversary of the seizure of Grozny by rebel forces, Russian news agencies reported. Chechen First Deputy Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov had the previous day dismissed concerns about possible rebel attack on the capital... MORE

In a series of three articles about the June zachistka in the Chechen village of Borozdinovskaya, Moskovsky komsomlets correspondent Vadim Rechkalov confirmed earlier reports that the early June operation – in which homes were burned, at least one resident killed and eleven abducted – was... MORE

A mass brawl took place on August 6 in the village of Novoselskoe in Dagestan's Khasavyurt district between a group of young people from the village and another group of young people from the nearby village of Moksob. According to various reports, anywhere from six... MORE

Chechen State Council Chairman Taus Dzhabrailov raised eyebrows on August 15, when he told journalists that the two wars in Chechnya have killed about 160,000 combatants and civilians, 30,000-40,000 of them Chechen fighters and civilians. He said that the remaining victims were "representatives of various... MORE

Another source of controversy last week was the Russian Defense Ministry's official statistics for the number of servicemen killed in Chechnya. RIA Novosti reported on August 10 that according to statistics posted on the ministry's website, 3,549 servicemen had been killed since 1999 while serving... MORE