Since the end of the Soviet system, the greatest source of conflicts in the North Caucasus has been neither Islamism nor nationalism but rather property—over who controls this or that piece of land. The collapse of industry in the cities only intensified this problem in... MORE

Ethnic conflicts in Dagestan, the most Islamic and multi-ethnic republic in the North Caucasus, have multiplied and intensified over the last month. The turmoil threatens not only the territorial integrity of that federal subject but also exacerbates tensions in regions far from there, including in... MORE

The Circassian national movement in the North Caucasus as well as in the diaspora is on the rise. In part, this trend is powered by new activism among Circassian young people, who, reports show, are increasingly turning away from an Islamic to an ethno-national identity.... MORE

Like the tsarist authorities who expelled the Circassians from the North Caucasus in 1864, an action many refer to as an “act of genocide,” and the Soviet ones who divided that nation up into a series of smaller ethnic communities, including the Adygei, the Kabardin,... MORE

Azerbaijan and the European Union launched negotiations on a strategic partnership agreement, on February 7, 2017 (Azertag, February 6; Azernews, February 14). Whereas Armenia concluded negotiations with the European bloc on a comprehensive and expanded partnership agreement, on February 27 (ArmenPress, Lragir.am, February 27). Both... MORE

The discovery of what appears to be a sizeable Islamic State (IS) cell in the Russian city of Khasavyurt, located in the North Caucasian republic of Dagestan, has sparked numerous violent confrontations as long-simmering tensions between Russian authorities and adherents of Salafism in the region... MORE

For at least the last 15 years, there has been an intense debate in both Russia and the West about how radical Islam can be defeated. Some argue that force alone is sufficient, but their opponents say that because radical Islam is an ideological project,... MORE

Analysts who have followed developments in Syria and Iraq have increasingly paid attention to the presence of Chechen fighters in the area since 2013. An influx of large numbers of Chechen militants to Syria created conditions for the appearance of ethnicity-based Chechen armed groups.  ... MORE

On December 4, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced the killing of Rustam Asilderov (a.k.a. amir Abu Muhammad Kadarsky) in Makhachkala, Dagestan. Government forces killed Asilderov along with four other insurgents in the Dagestani capital’s suburb of Talgi. Asilderov, 35, was the leader of... MORE