Latest Articles about North Caucasus
North Caucasus Authorities Unable to End Wave of Rebel and Criminal Extortion
The activities of the resistance movement in the North Caucasus have tended to spread unevenly across the region so far. The northeastern part of the Caucasus has certainly been leading the resistance for the past 12 years. As we move toward the west, from the... MORE
Moscow Faces Unpleasant Dilemma in Dealing with the Syrian Circassian Issue
On January 22, the Circassian activist organization Adyge Khase-Circassian Parliament met in Adygea’s capital Maikop and resolved to hold a conference on the repatriation of Circassians from Syria. The conference is expected to take place in Adygea on February 11. The activists also called on... MORE
North Caucasus Stays High on the Russian Political Agenda as Presidential Elections Approach
On January 23, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin published an article about ethnic relations in the Russian Federation. This was Putin’s second article to appear in the Russian press recently as he gears up for presidential elections in the country in March 2012. To a... MORE
No Let-Up in Rebel Attacks on Law-Enforcement Personnel in Dagestan
In Dagestan today (January 20), three alleged militants were killed in a shootout with security forces in the republic’s Khasavyurt district. According to the Anti-Terrorist Committee, two of the slain suspects were identified as 25-year-old twin brothers Sabit and Said Akaev, who, according to the... MORE
Fewer Killed in the North Caucasus Last Year, but Overall Situation Remains Unchanged
The Kavkazsky Uzel (Caucasian Knot) website has published the statistics for casualties in the North Caucasus in 2011. The figures, compiled using open sources, allow us to draw a range of interesting conclusions. First of all, it is peculiar that the number of those wounded... MORE
Return to Popularly Elected Regional Leaders Could Bring Sweeping Political Changes to the North Caucasus
On January 16, in what may constitute a major political shift, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev introduced a bill reintroducing the direct election of governors in the regions of the Russian Federation. The newspaper Kommersant published photocopies of the president’s legislative proposal on its website. The... MORE
Moscow Appears to Be Losing Its Last Supporters in Kabardino-Balkaria
In an interview published on December 27, 2011, the chairman of the Circassian organization Khase, Ibragim Yaganov, scathingly criticized the Russian government for its policies in Kabardino-Balkaria. Yaganov, who is based in Kabardino-Balkaria, is a well-known public figure among Circassians. In an interview with the... MORE
Start of 2012 Sees No Let-Up in North Caucasus Violence
In Dagestan, two policemen were wounded today (January 13) when a police road patrol unit was attacked in the town of Izerbash. A Dagestani law-enforcement source reported that the incident took place shortly after midnight when gunmen driving in a car opened fire on the... MORE
Rebels Battle Security Forces in Chechnya, While Moscow Bolsters the Military in the Republic
In accordance with a tradition that has been in place since 2005, Ramzan Kadyrov rang in 2012 with his estimate of the number of insurgents in Chechnya. Citing numerous operational sources, he stated that there are only 50 or fewer militants left in the republic.... MORE
Dagestani Commission for Adapting Rebels to Civilian Life Yields Few Results in 2011
The Dagestani government’s commission for adapting rebels to civilian life had mixed results in 2011. The commission was set up in November 2010 to help the government dispel the rising wave of militancy in the largest republic of the North Caucasus. The Dagestani government’s press... MORE