In a further sign of the rising importance of Cossack neo-imperial structures in Russia’s current political system, apparently President Vladimir Putin recently expressed support for the idea of creating Cossack battalions within the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia). The presidential envoy to the North Caucasus Federal... MORE

The German Federal Prosecutor's Office (GBA) is investigating a case of an employee of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania who is suspected of divulging classified information (Spiegel, July 2). On the same day of... MORE

After Ingushetian police officers prevented violent clashes from erupting between protesters and Russian National Guard troops in Magas in March 2019, the authorities disbanded the Ingushetian unit and charged a dozen law enforcement members with failure to comply with an order. An investigation into the... MORE

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, signed an agreement on June 15, 2021, that may have historic significance not only for the two signatory countries, but also for neighboring states (see EDM, June 23). “The Shusha Declaration,” named after the... MORE

The ruler of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, aspires to have not only administrative but also moral control over the population of his republic—as well as beyond. The Chechen government’s peculiar actions have recently again riveted the Russian public, while drawing unexpectedly sharp criticism. On June 10,... MORE

Despite the relative success of the Syrian regime in stopping the advance of the armed opposition (with help from the Russian expeditionary force and Iranian-backed Shia militias), the war-torn country still remains a magnet for foreign Islamic volunteers. Over 1,800 Dagestanis from the Russian Federation... MORE

In the 1930s, Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin considered building a canal between the Black and Caspian seas because the Volga­–Don Canal lacked the depth to handle large-capacity ships. But World War II forced him to suspend and then abandon that dream. Now, President Vladimir Putin... MORE

Chechen officials and Ingush activists reached an agreement to hold negotiations on the contentious administrative border between Chechnya and Ingushetia. On April 25, the Ingush Mehk-Khel movement (a.k.a. Council of Elders of Ingushetia) publicly appealed to the speaker of the Chechen Parliament, Magomed Daudov, via... MORE

On March 22, a Moscow court sentenced the brother of a former governor of Dagestan to 12 years in prison for bribery and large-scale fraud. Additionally, the court ordered the defendant to pay the government an eight million ruble (around $100,000) fine. Radzhab Abdulatipov had... MORE

On March 11, government forces in Makhachkala, Dagestan, killed a suspected rebel. According to official sources, the suspect had been plotting a terrorist attack on government agencies. Reportedly, the authorities found a machine gun, ammunition and an improvised explosive device (IED) at the site of... MORE