Mass arrests of Muslims in mosques have become a hallmark of the Dagestani head Ramazan Abdulatipov’s policies. While Abdulatipov’s predecessor Magomedsalam Magomedov engaged in a negotiating process and dialogue with the Salafist part of the Muslim community, this approach has been gradually scrapped during the... MORE

On May 12, the Russian-controlled Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics” (DPR, LPR) jointly presented their proposals for changing Ukraine’s Constitution. Their documents avoid using the terms “DPR” and “LPR,” even as they rapidly consolidate their state structures and armies under Russia’s protection. From that position... MORE

Moscow, Berlin, some other Western European capitals, and most recently, US Secretary of State John Kerry are growing eager to see the Minsk Two agreement’s political phase starting in Ukraine. The Minsk Contact Group’s Working Groups have been launched, inaugurating that political phase (see EDM,... MORE

Russia is slowly recovering from this month’s (May 9) celebrations of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany 70 years ago, but remains reluctant to take stock of the problems that are looming large over the immediate future (see EDM, May 11). The propaganda story... MORE

Dagestan is the only part of the North Caucasus today that is experiencing ceaseless counter-terrorism operations (KTO). The security services announce KTOs in various areas of the republic, and these sometimes continue for months. During an active KTO regime, the authorities restrict the movements of... MORE

On May 12, friends and supporters of the murdered opposition figure Boris Nemtsov published a report based on his work to uncover Russian military involvement in the war in Ukraine. The Nemtsov report, “Putin. Voina” (Putin. War), offers 64 pages and eleven chapters assessing the... MORE

For the first time since the death of the Caucasus Emirate’s last leader, Abu Muhammad (Aliaskhab Kebekov), near the city of Buinaksk, on April 19 (Vdagestan.com, April 20), one of his possible successors, Abu Usman Gimrinsky (Magomed Alievich Suleimanov), issued a statement. Amir Abu Usman... MORE

Even as South Korean media were speculating about Kim Jong-un’s projected visit to Moscow to attend the VE-Day celebration on May 9, 2015, he announced abruptly that he would not, after all, be attending (Yonhap, April 30; Dong-a-Ilbo Online, May 1; The Moscow Time, April... MORE

The report “Putin. War” (“Putin. Voina”)—a summary of evidence of the involvement of the Russian military in the annexation of Crimea and in fighting in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas (encompassing Donetsk and Luhansk provinces)—was published and presented in Moscow this week (May 12).... MORE

Russia’s Muslim community has been unsettled by the recent destruction of a mosque in the northern Russian town of Novy Urengoy. Local Muslims began worshiping at the mosque in 1996, after repairing the decaying building. Maksim Shevchenko, a well-known pro-Kremlin journalist who specializes in minority... MORE