On March 30, an estimated 50 relatives of the murdered member of Karachaevo-Cherkessian parliament, Islam Krymshamkhalov, staged a protest near the office of Moscow’s envoy to the North Caucasus, Aleksandr Khloponin, in Pyatigorsk. Krymshamkhalov was killed near the Karachaevo-Cherkessian Supreme Court in Cherkessk in January... MORE

On March 30, Ingushetia’s opposition published an open appeal to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The opposition in the republic, which is organized in a group called Mekhk-Khel (People’s Council), demanded the Russian president “force a return of the situation in the republic to the proper... MORE

A car being driven by a Federal Security Service (FSB) officer blew up today (March 30) in Ingushetia’s main city, Nazran. The explosion wounded the officer, identified as Ruslan Yandiev, and his wife, who was traveling in the car with him and reportedly also works... MORE

Judging by the number of trips Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliev has made to Chechnya, one might think that Russia consists of only Chechnya and Moscow. Otherwise, these visits, sometimes made as often as twice a month and accompanied by mandatory visits paid to Akhmad... MORE

On March 26, the head of Ingushetia, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, unexpectedly lashed out at the republic’s law enforcement agencies, demanding that they be fully in control of the situation in the republic. He called an extraordinary meeting of law enforcement officials and the relatives of Abubakar... MORE

On March 20, members of a Russian parliamentary delegation who traveled to Syria reported that at least 100 families of Syrian Circassians were prepared to immediately emigrate to the Russian North Caucasus. They said at least 300 families were also considering emigration to the Circassian... MORE

An explosion in the Dagestani city of Buinaksk today (March 23) killed the imam of the city’s central mosque, Gitinomagomed Abdulgapurov, and his bodyguard, Magomedrasul Magomedov. The blast occurred around 6:00 a.m., local time, as the two were walking down the street. The Rosbalt news... MORE

There has recently been a spate of news stories in Russia about the Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami organization (Party of Liberation). This organization is on the Russian Supreme Court’s official list of terrorist organizations and thus its activities in the country are banned (www.rg.ru/2006/07/28/terror-organizacii.html). An international... MORE

On March 18, Russia’s Interior Ministry officially confirmed a massive relocation of ministry troops from Chechnya to Dagestan. The official reason given for the movement of the troops was to “stabilize” the situation in Dagestan. A temporary command was set up in Dagestan to coordinate... MORE

On March 16, a Russian parliamentary delegation flew to Syria to examine the plight of Syria’s Circassians and their possible repatriation to the North Caucasus. The delegation included members of the Federation Council, the upper chamber of Russia’s parliament, and regional officials and activists from... MORE