The People's Assembly, the lower house of Chechnya's newly-elected parliament, unanimously voted on December 14 to rename the capital, Grozny, in honor of Akhmad Kadyrov, the pro-Moscow president assassinated in May 2004. Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov, who served as the republic's agricultural minister and a deputy prime... MORE

Russia is unhappy about the draft report prepared by a committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) concerning the human rights situation in Chechnya. Entitled "Violations of Human Rights in the Chechen Republic," the report was compiled by a member of... MORE

Chechen Security Council Secretary Rudnik Dudaev died on December 11 in a fire at his residence within the Chechen government complex in Grozny. RIA Novosti quoted Chechen Deputy Interior Minister Akhmed Dakaev as saying that same day that the fire was probably caused by a... MORE

Agence France-Presse reported on December 10 that Abu Omar al-Saif, described as "the purported spiritual leader of Arab fighters" in Chechnya, was killed in battle. The news agency quoted from "an Internet statement" that read: "Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Saif al-Jaber al-Buaynayn al-Tamimi, also... MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin, intermittently reminded of his stated intention of bringing peace and stability to the Chechen Republic when he rose to power in 1999, made a surprise visit to the opening of the Chechen Parliament on December 12. Putin told the Chechen Parliament:... MORE

At daybreak on January 5 federal forces began a third day of attacks on what was thought to be a group of eight militants blockaded in a wooded gorge located near the villages of Gimry and Shamilkala in Dagestan's Untsukulsky district, newsru.com reported. Dagestani Interior... MORE

Citing the Swiss newspaper Schaffhauser Nachrichten, Kavkazky Uzel reported on December 30 that around 200 complaints from Chechens concerning crimes committed by Russian troops, including torture, kidnapping, extra-judicial arrests and murders, have been filed with the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg. According to... MORE

Testifying in the trial of Nurpashi Kulayev, officially the only surviving terrorist involved in the Beslan school seizure, Izrail Totoonti, secretary for the North Ossetian parliament's vice-speaker, told the North Ossetian Supreme Court on December 22 that Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov was ready to... MORE

While warlord Shamil Basaev dominates the headlines of the Chechen conflict, a lesser-known guerrilla leader has worked his way into a crucial position in the Chechen leadership. Dokku Umarov was appointed vice-president in the new administration of President Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev in June 2005. A native... MORE

Chechen rebel warlord Shamil Basaev gave an interview to Kavkazcenter that the separatist website posted on January 9. Basaev, who holds the titles of "First Deputy Prime Minister of the government of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, head of the Military Committee-Majlis ul-Shura, and Military... MORE