In an interview with Sobesednik magazine, Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov was asked whether he has “presidential ambitions.” Kadyrov responded: “And why not? Until recently, [I didn’t have] any, but now I’m thinking about it. If the people say, ‘We want to see you as... MORE

The Chechen factor is one of the controversial issues in the modern history of Azerbaijan. Since the first Russo-Chechen war, Azerbaijan did not pursue a consistent policy concerning the conflict in the North Caucasus. While officially the authorities denied any help to the Chechen mujahideen,... MORE

Four federal Interior Ministry troops were killed and three wounded in an ambush by rebel fighters in Chechnya's Vedeno on May 24, Russian and Western news agencies reported. According to the online journal Gazeta, a Russian Interior Ministry unit was ambushed near the settlement of... MORE

The growing frequency of attacks in Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia and Karachaevo-Cherkessia appears to mark not only the seasonal increase in rebel activity that comes with the start of spring and return of foliage, but may also indicate growing regional coordination between rebels in furtherance of... MORE

During a May 18 meeting with members of Chechen human rights groups in Gudermes, Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov denied the existence of secret prisons in Chechnya and asked the meeting's participants to invite Russian and international human rights organizations to the republic. "I would... MORE

According to press reports, Chechnya's Ministry of National Policy, Press and Information suspended a poll commissioned by allies of Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov with the aim of highlighting his ostensible popularity in the republic and making Chechen President Alu Alkhanov look bad (Chechnya Weekly,... MORE

On May 22, Chechen President Alu Alkhanov accused the United States of having "double standards" in the war on terrorism for allowing a Jamestown Foundation conference on the North Caucasus to take place, the Associated Press reported. "The United States is conducting politics of double... MORE

In recent months, Russian officials have faced touch criticism from their Western counterparts. The January adoption of the draconian NGO law and its subsequent enforcement in April is often presented as irrefutable evidence that Kremlin power brokers seek to curtail individual liberty and establish a... MORE

The separatist Chechenpress and Kavkazcenter websites on May 30 quoted a source in the Military Committee of the GKO [State Defense Committee] Majlis-ul-Shura as saying that “the first vice premier of the ChRI [Chechen Republic of Ichkeria] government, military emir of the mujahideen Abdallakh Shamil... MORE

In an interview with Komsomolskaya pravda published on May 30, Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov said it was necessary to mount a large-scale campaign to drive militants out of the republics neighboring Chechnya. Asked whether it was Shamil Basaev’s dream “to set the whole North... MORE