In his September 4 address to the nation concerning the Beslan tragedy, President Vladimir Putin cited the corrosive effect that corruption has had on the country's judicial and law-enforcement systems as one of the reasons for the wave of terrorism sweeping Russia. On September 11,... MORE

In an article headlined "Silence of Political Elite Is Deafening," the Moscow Times today (September 10) notes that much of Russia's political elite has "kept painfully quiet" about the Beslan school tragedy -- a function of its fear of "antagonizing the Kremlin," as Igor Bunin,... MORE

A newspaper reported today (September 8) that one of the men who commanded the group that seized School No. 1 in Beslan, North Ossetia, was a former Ingushetian police officer. According to Vremya novostei, an insurgent who went by the nom de guerre "Magas" led... MORE

The September 1 terrorist attack in Russia's North Ossetian town of Beslan has not led the Kremlin to reassess its stance on neighboring Georgia. Moreover, many Russian policymakers and analysts have begun to search for traces of Georgian involvement in the Beslan tragedy. Russian attempts... MORE

Russia's President Vladimir Putin urged a radical restructuring of the country's security system after the hostage crisis in North Ossetia ended in a major bloodbath. But some influential analysts argue that the Kremlin's policies in the Caucasus need to be drastically changed to prevent a... MORE

Russian special forces on September 3 took control of Middle School No. 1 in Beslan, North Ossetia, which was seized by gunmen on September 1. Fighting broke out in the early hours of September 3 after the hostage-takers agreed to allow the removal of the... MORE

Two leading Russian journalists have apparently become victims of the events in North Ossetia. Novaya gazeta correspondent Anna Politkovskaya became seriously ill following a flight on the evening of September 1 from Moscow to Rostov-on-Don. From there, she had planned to travel together with Leonid... MORE

An armed gang of around 17 militants burst into a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, on September 1 seizing children and parents as hostages. The incident has plunged Russia into a hostage crisis reminiscent of the seizure of a Moscow theater in October 2002. Early... MORE

As the Eurasia Daily Monitor went to press, Russian media were reporting that a group of terrorists, including several female suicide bombers, had taken more than 400 people hostage, among them 200 children, in a school in the North Ossetian city of Beslan.

Alu Alkhanov, Chechnya's former interior minister, has been elected president of Chechnya with 74% of the vote. The chairman of the republican election commission, Abdul-Kerim Arsakhanov, said that the turnout was around 80% and that there were no reports of serious violations over the course... MORE