As early as the middle of 19th century, oil was extracted to the surface through wells on the territory of Dagestan. With the participation of Swedish oil industrialist Ludvig Nobel, several relatively shallow oil wells were operating in Dagestan by the end of that century... MORE

Chechnya was back in the spotlight at the end of last week because of the announcements made by its president, Ramzan Kadyrov, with regard to the fate of the counter-terrorist operation in the republic. In the best traditions of the Soviet past, a number of... MORE

On March 12, Russia’s Investigative Committee announced the names of the suspects who killed both the acting and the former mayor of the capital of North Ossetia, Vladikavkaz, as well as several top police officials last year. Nine people are accused of committing the crimes;... MORE

Reports about armed encounters have been streaming in from Dagestan for the past week. For three days, the Russian army jointly with the Federal Security Service (FSB) and Dagestan’s Interior Ministry carried out a military operation aimed at eliminating a group of militants in the... MORE

Kommersant on March 26 quoted Akhmed Zakaev, the London-based prime minister of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, as saying of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov’s assertion that an announcement of an end to the counter-terrorist operation in Chechnya is imminent: “On paper, of course, you... MORE

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov declared on March 25 that the counter-terrorist operation in his republic will be completed by the end of this month and that already by the end of next week all federal limitations on the republic will be lifted. “In Chechnya, the... MORE

Itar-Tass, citing Ingushetia’s Interior Ministry, provided details of a special operation to “neutralize militants” carried out in the village of Ordzhonikidzevskaya, in Ingushetia’s Sunzha district, on March 26, during which a militant holed up in an apartment building was reportedly killed and two women detained.... MORE

Journalist Fatima Tlisova recently conducted an interview with Anzor Astemirov, who was the leader of Islamic militants in Kabardino-Balkaria and more recently became had of the Sharia courts for the Caucasus Emirate, the radical wing of the North Caucasian insurgency. The Jamestown Foundation believes the... MORE

Militant actions in Ingushetia increasingly are bearing the signs of an uncompromising struggle against the authorities. At times, the news reports from this republic resemble wartime chronicles. The daily news from Ingushetia in the Russian mass media is filled with reports of armed assaults, explosions... MORE

The commander of the United Group of Forces in the North Caucasus, Lieutenant General Nikolai Sivak, delivered a message to the Chechen people on March 18, asking them to inform authorities about rebel plans and thereby avert attacks. “Law enforcement officials are hoping to receive... MORE