In November 2001, Akhmad Kadyrov, then head of the pro-Russian administration in Chechnya, declared that “there is no more need to use aviation and artillery in the region” and that “the police should fight with the remnants of the rebels” (Newsru.com, November 12, 2001). Five... MORE

The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) issued a statement on March 13 concerning the situation in Chechnya. The CPT said that during its most recent trips to Chechnya, in April/May and September 2006,... MORE

Umar Khambiev, who was Chechnya’s health minister under Aslan Maskhadov and subsequently represented the government of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI) abroad, arrived on March 13 in Italy - where, Gazeta reported on March 14, he plans to seek political asylum. According to... MORE

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov and Eduard Petrukhin, the deputy director of the Federal Penal Jurisdiction Service (FSIN), reached an agreement on March 14 allowing Chechens who are serving terms in Russian prisons outside Chechnya to return to the republic to serve out their sentences. On... MORE

On March 13, Gazeta.ru reported that a poll by the independent Levada Center found that only 33 percent of Russians believe that Ramzan Kadyrov can be trusted while 35 percent believe he cannot be trusted. Another 32 percent of the respondents said they were not... MORE

The widow and children of Aslan Maskhadov, the former Chechen president and rebel leader who was killed by security forces on March 8, 2005, issued an appeal calling for the return of the slain leader’s body. Citing the separatist Chechenpress news agency, on March 10... MORE

Itar-Tass reported that two officers with the Dagestani branch of the Federal Security Service (FSB) were killed on March 14 when unidentified gunmen fired on their car with automatic weapons in the city of Khasavyurt. Police found a total of 80 submachine gun shell casings... MORE

On the evening of February 15, 2007, Ramzan Kadyrov, at that time still Chechnya’s prime minister, prayed together with members of his family in his native village of Tsentoroi. According to his press service, later that evening Kadyrov received the news from Moscow that President... MORE

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said on March 21 that the issue of signing a treaty delimiting powers between Chechnya and the federal center is currently not relevant, Newsru.com reported. “We don’t have the need for such a treaty,” Kadyrov told journalists, adding that if the... MORE

The head of the Chechen Election Commission, Ismail Baikhanov, announced on March 17 that the republic would hold a referendum to amend the constitution before the end of this year. Kommersant reported on March 19 that according to its information, the changes to the constitution... MORE