
Latest Articles about North Caucasus

Security Forces Conduct a Series of Special Operations in Kabardino-Balkaria and Dagestan
In Kabardino-Balkaria today (March 16), three alleged militants were killed in a shootout with law-enforcement personnel. The incident took place at around 6:40 a.m., local time, on the border between the republic’s Baksansky and Prokhladnensky municipal districts. According to Russia’s Anti-Terrorist Committee (NAK), police tried... MORE

Do the Russian Intelligence Services Not Know Who They Are Fighting in Ingushetia?
Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported on March 3 that “the head of the Ingush bandit underground, Adam Tsyzdoev, was liquidated in a special operation” (https://lenta.ru/news/2012/03/03/kill/). Akhmetgeri Tsechoev was killed in the same special operation, which was carried out jointly by Ingushetia’s branches of... MORE

Kremlin Plans for Kabardino-Balkaria Tourism Plagued by Grass-Roots Opposition
On March 12, Russian security forces killed six suspected rebels in the village of Mir in Kabardino-Balkaria’s Chegem district. A counter-terrorism operation regime was introduced in this small settlement with its name that, ironically, translates into English as “Peace.” According to government reports, five of... MORE

Dagestani Leader Tries to Remain Optimistic as Situation Points to Intractable Instability
On March 9, a Russian military helicopter was hit by rebels in Dagestan’s Karabudakhkent district, in the vicinity of the village of Gubden. The helicopter’s crew managed to land the aircraft and reportedly avoided casualties. Still, the attack was just the latest indicator of the... MORE

Dagestani Militants Continue to Target Policemen
Security forces in Dagestan launched a special operation in the village of Novosasitli in the republic’s Khasavyurt district on March 7. According to eyewitnesses, about ten military vehicles, including trucks and armored personnel carriers, entered the village and blocked all roads leading in and out... MORE

Russian Security Services Responsible for Majority of Kidnappings in the North Caucasus
The North Caucasus is the only part of Russia where the authorities engage in systematic abductions – a practice that has existed since the first war in Chechnya in the mid-1990s. According to the Center for Civil Assistance to the Search for Missing Persons in... MORE

Putin Faces Mounting Challenges in the North Caucasus Following Election “Win”
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin won the March 4 presidential elections in Russia, as most observers had been expecting. Despite his landslide victory with nearly 64 percent of vote, many analysts agree that Putin will no longer be able to treat the presidency as a sinecure... MORE

Political Forces in Ingushetia Demand More Say in Republic’s Affairs
On March 3, Russia’s Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAK) preliminarily confirmed the killing of another leader of Ingushetia’s militants, Adam Tsyzdoev. Tsyzdoev and another rebel were killed by the security services in the northern Ingushetian town of Malgobek. The militants reportedly fired shots at police who tried... MORE

Insurgency Related Incidents Reported in Dagestan and Ingushetia
A police colonel was assassinated today (March 2) in Dagestan’s capital Makhachkala. The victim, identified as 51-year-old Magomed Musaev, the deputy head of the criminal investigation department in Makhachkala’s Sovietsky district, was shot by unidentified attackers as he drove to work. According to initial reports,... MORE

Dagestan Rebel Movement Undergoes Leadership Changes as Radicalization Deepens
The death of yet another Dagestani rebel leader this month passed unnoticed against the backdrop of bloody fighting in the border area between Chechnya and Dagestan last week. Like the killings of previous Dagestani insurgent leaders, the latest killing will have little impact on the... MORE