On February 2, the Chechen rebel leader Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev issued three new decrees that radically changed the structure of the separatist government. In the decrees, which were posted on the Chechenpress, Kavkazcenter and Daymohk websites, the leader declares the principle that "all the heads of... MORE

The separatist Chechenpress website on February 11 posted a video of separatist president Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev reading a statement in Chechen. In the statement, which was credited to the Daymohk information agency and accompanied by a written Russian-language translation, Sadulaev said he wanted to "clear up... MORE

In an interview with Kommersant-Vlast published on February 13, Chechnya's first deputy prime minister, who is currently serving as acting prime minister, spoke on a variety subjects, including his political ambitions and his ban on Danish aid organizations in Chechnya in response to the controversy... MORE

A member of the Stavropol Krai administration's anti-terrorist commission, Aleksandr Bondarenko, told RIA Novosti on February 10 that the militants who were killed in fighting in Tukui-Mekteb, a village in Stavropol Krai's Neftekumsky district, were members of an ethnic Nogai battalion that has been operating... MORE

The separatist Daymohk news agency on February 13 carried a statement by the rebel movement's foreign ministry condemning the decision by "the occupying authorities" to ban the Danish Refugee Council's activities in Chechnya (see Chechnya Weekly, February 9). "For many years of the continuing Russian-Chechen... MORE

The Jerusalem Post reported on February 13 that Israeli government officials have been circulating a document putatively "showing Hamas' links to Chechen terrorists," in an attempt "to influence Russian public opinion against President Vladimir Putin's overtures to Hamas" – a reference to the Russian president's... MORE

On April 13, 1794, the Chechen sheikh Mansour (Ushurma) Aldinsky ended his life at the Shlisselburg Castle. In his 30 plus years, he managed to achieve what no one before him had ever achieved. He became an example for many generations of heroes after him.... MORE

Kommersant reported on February 22 that the office of presidential envoy to the Southern Federal District (YuFO), Dmitry Kozak, has asked the YuFO division of the federal Prosecutor General's Office to assess the legality of actions taken by Chechen government officials. According to the newspaper,... MORE

Acting Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov used the occasion of a February 21 meeting in Grozny with visiting U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour to make accusations against Boris Berezovsky, the former Kremlin insider and current Kremlin opponent, and Akhmed Zakaev, the separatist... MORE

Itar-Tass reported on February 21 that U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour's meetings that day in Grozny with Chechen President Alu Alkhanov and Acting Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov focused on kidnapping. In addition, the Prava cheloveka v Rossii ("Human Rights in Russia") website,... MORE