Latest Articles about North Caucasus
Colleagues of Murdered Rights Activists Mark Anniversary of Death
On August 10, members of NGO’s, rights activists, journalists and friends of Zarema Sadullaeva and Alik Dzhabrailov gathered for a small ceremony of remembrance in Grozny. Unidentified law enforcement members led Sadullaeva and Dzhabrailov out of their office in Grozny on August 10, 2009. The... MORE
Muhammad Amin: Imam Shamil’s Naib to the Circassians in the Northwest Caucasus
Muhammad (Asiyalo) Amin ibn Hajjio al-Honodi al-Daghestani, Shamil's third naib, was the most significant deputy of the imam in the Northwest Caucasus in the mid 19th century. He occupied an important role in Circassian social, religious and political life for more than a decade (1848-1859),... MORE
Major Overhaul of the North Caucasus’ Transit System is Postponed
Russian Transportation Minister, Igor Levitin, toured the North Caucasian republics from July 31 to August 3. During that visit he announced several highway reconstruction projects, and unveiled plans for consolidation of the air transport industry in the North Caucasus. At the same time, however, he... MORE
Violence Reported Across the North Caucasus
Violence connected to the insurgency –and violence more generally– continued in the North Caucasus this past week, despite reports of splits in the leadership of the rebel Caucasus Emirate.Three traffic policemen were shot today (August 6) on the Cherkessk-Dombai highway in the village of Ordzhonikidzevsky... MORE
“Palace Coup” Reveals Split between Umarov and Rebel Commander Aslanbek Vadalov
The past week was filled with surprising and confusing changes in the leadership of the North Caucasus rebels. First, Doku Umarov’s plan to appoint a successor as leader of the North Caucasus rebels has ended up in his trivial resignation on health grounds. Still, Umarov... MORE
North Caucasus Human Rights Activists Introduce Counter-Measures to Thwart Illegal Detentions
On July 29, six people from the village of Komsomolskoe in northern Dagestan’s Kizilyurt were abducted by unidentified assailants. On August 1, one of those abducted, Kaitmaz Magomedov, was released, apparently by law enforcement agencies without explanation (www.kavkaz-uzel.ru, August 1). As of August 3, the... MORE
Moscow Grows Weary Over Kadyrov’s Excessive Independence
On July 30, the primary news outlet of the Chechen militants, Kavkaz Center, citing its own sources, reported Moscow was preparing a drastic shift in its policies in the North Caucasus. According to the website, the main points of Moscow’s new plan for the North... MORE
Caucasus Emirate Leader Chooses a Successor
In response to the thunderous and inconsequential pronouncements made by Russia’s power structures and top-ranking officials about the situation in the North Caucasus, rebel groups there have been striking Russian interests across the region as if to refute Russian claims. Over the past week, there... MORE
Russia Adds Poison to its Counter-Insurgency Arsenal in the North Caucasus
The Rosbalt news agency reported yesterday (July 29) that the Russian special services have killed at least 17 Chechen rebels, including rebel “leaders,” over the last seven months by poisoning their food. Noting that Russia’s special services reportedly carried out a successful operation to poison... MORE
Inter-Ethnic Brawl in Tuapse Reveals Deep Tension in Russo-Chechen Relations
On July 25, a large-scale fistfight broke out between Chechen youths and the local Russian population near Tuapse, a port town on the Black Sea in the Krasnodar region. Four hundred Chechen youths and children along with their older caretakers were on holiday in the... MORE