On July 26 the Balkar people sent the strongest signal yet aimed at convincing the authorities to take into account their opinions and preferences, stating that they will demand autonomous districts within Kabardin-Balkaria or if it does not work then a separate autonomous republic. The... MORE

The initial condemnation of the murder of the Chechen human rights activist Natalya Estemirova on July 15 was contrary to the muted reaction that Russian authorities had previously displayed in similar cases. President Dmitry Medvedev not only acknowledged that Estemirova was killed because of her... MORE

On July 20 President Dmitry Medvedev signed into law amendments to Russian NGO legislation. The changes make it easier for the NGO's to register with the government, to report on their activities and limit government agencies' ability to perform regular checks on NGO's (www.kremlin.ru, July... MORE

Almost a month and a half after the assassination of Dagestan's Interior Minister Police General Adilgerei Magomedtagirov on June 5, the federal government finally chose his replacement. The new minister is Federal Security Service (FSB) Colonel Ali Magomedov, a close associate of Dagestan's President Mukhu... MORE

Violence in Ingushetia continues unabated. The wreckage of a blown-up VAZ-2107 automobile with the remains of four unidentified people was discovered ten kilometers outside the city of Karabulak on July 26. A Karabulak police source said the owner of the car was a suspected rebel.... MORE

Kommersant reported today that the speaker of Chechnya's parliament, Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov, has held two days of talks in Oslo with Akhmed Zakaev, the London-based prime minister of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI). According to the newspaper, yesterday's meeting between the two was closed... MORE

The murder of human rights activist Natalya Estemirova continued to have international resonance on July 22, when Britain's Guardian newspaper published a letter signed by more than 100 prominent international figures calling on the Russian authorities to find her killers and to "end the killings... MORE

The Memorial human rights group, which has suspended its activities in Chechnya in the wake of the murder of Natalya Estemirova, who worked in its Grozny office, says that it nonetheless is continuing to receive reports about rights violations in the republic, both from law-enforcement... MORE

On July 18, the renowned human rights center Memorial announced the suspension of its activities in Chechnya, following the murder of its activist Natalya Estemirova on July 15. Estemirova was kidnapped in Grozny near her home and found dead in neighboring Ingushetia later on the... MORE

The wave of escalating operations by insurgents coupled with a number of high-profile murders and assassination attempts in June has pushed Russia into launching a campaign of pressure aimed at liquidating rebel fighters.Russia's campaign is manifesting itself primarily through methods and tactics employed to put... MORE