Latest Articles about North Caucasus
NORTH CAUCASUS AWAITS PROMISED SPRING OFFENSIVE
At the moment, the atmosphere in the North Caucasus can best be described as "the calm before the storm." As the weather becomes warmer, the population and the authorities are bracing for the renewed attacks that the rebels promised all winter. In February rebel military... MORE
BAIT AND SWITCH: MOSCOW’S SHELL GAME IN CHECHNYA
Even though Moscow successfully eliminated Chechen leader Aslan Maskhadov in an apparently carefully planned and long-term operation in March, there is little sign of progress towards peace in the breakaway republic. In fact, the number of Russian troops stationed there has recently risen by 5,000... MORE
THE NORTH CAUCASUS SLIPS OUT OF CONTROL
The collapse of Askar Akayev's regime in Kyrgyzstan, so similar to the events in Georgia or Ajaria, has reinvigorated the debates simmering in Moscow since the Orange Revolution in Kyiv: Is a revolution, preferably of a "velvet" kind, possible in Russia? Opinions are heavily on... MORE
RUSSIAN REGIONAL PROTESTS SPREAD TO INGUSHETIA, BASHKORTOSTAN
Regional protests continue to spread across Russia. Late last year, the residents of Karachaevo-Cherkessia, a region in the western portion of the North Caucasus, demanded the resignation of Mustafa Batdyev, the local president. After a week-long standoff, the opposition dropped their demands in return for... MORE
INSURGENTS IN DAGESTAN AND KABARDINO-BALKARIA READY FOR SUMMER CAMPAIGN
While Russian authorities were celebrating the death of Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov, insurgents in two other Northern Caucasus regions declared their readiness to conduct "military operations" as part of a coming spring and summer "campaign." On March 10, Yarmuk, an insurgent group in Kabardino-Balkaria,... MORE
ISLAMIST NAMED FORMAL HEAD OF CHECHEN RESISTANCE
Observers in Russia and elsewhere continue to mull the significance of the March 8 killing of Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov. Meanwhile, Maskhadov's London-based emissary, Akhmed Zakaev, said in a statement that the rebel leadership had agreed back in July-August 2002 that should the separatist... MORE
DAGESTAN SECURITY OFFICIALS SEARCH FOR TRAITORS IN THEIR RANKS
A recent police search of insurgents in Dagestan turned up a list of the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of more than 100 security officials in the North Caucasus republic. The discovery has sent chills through the republic's leadership and indicate the rebel's increasing pressure... MORE
NEW REMAINS DISCOVERED IN BESLAN: INCOMPETENCE OR CRIME?
On February 25, residents of Beslan, North Ossetia, found clothing and physical remains of several child hostages killed during the rescue operation on September 3, 2004. Jeremy Page, a reporter for the London Times, was with the residents when they made the discovery. In his... MORE
BESLAN MOTHERS TRUST PUTIN, DEMAND DZASOKHOV’S HEAD
On February 17, the "Mothers of Beslan," a group of women who lost their children in the hostage crisis in Beslan last September, petitioned Russian President Vladimir Putin to dismiss the president of North Ossetia, Alexander Dzasokhov. The Beslan families told journalists that they had... MORE
MOSCOW’S CRACKDOWN ON “ISLAMIC” MILITANTS FUELS FEARS OF PROLONGED CHECHEN CONFLICT
The long-awaited Russian crackdown against Islamic militants in the North Caucasus has begun. For now the emerging law enforcement and military campaign seems more sporadic in its nature than first mooted. President Vladimir Putin, promising to get tough with "terrorists" following the Beslan hostage crisis... MORE