Latest Articles about North Caucasus
The COVID-19 Pandemic Starts to Have Its Toll on the North Caucasus
COVID-19 has now started to spread to Russia’s North Caucasus republics, and regional authorities have been scrambling to mobilize scant resources to stave off the pandemic. As of March 30, officials confirmed infections in Adygea, Chechnya, Kabardino-Balkaria, as well as Krasnodar and Stavropol regions. The... MORE
The Outflow of Dagestanis to the Middle East Has Lasting Consequences
The Russian Southern District Military Court, in the city of Rostov-on-Don, recently sentenced Biysoltan Jamalov, a resident of Dagestan, to 12 years in prison on charges of terrorism and participation in the activities of an “illegal” armed group in Syria. Several years ago, the Russian... MORE
Economic Issues and Political Grievances May Revive Russia’s Ethnic Fault Lines in the North Caucasus
According to a report by a Russian credit rating agency affiliated with RBK media holding, 62 of Russia’s 83 regions (this total excludes the illegally annexed Crimea and Sevastopol, which Moscow considers its 84th and 85th federal subjects) are likely to deplete their financial reserves... MORE
Circassians Demand Resignation of Russian Ambassador to Turkey
The Coordinating Council of Circassian civil society organizations of Kabardino-Balkaria appealed to the head of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, to recall the ambassador to Turkey, Aleksei Yerkhov. In a recent interview with the Abkhazian service of Sputnik News, the Russian envoy... MORE
Kalmyk Port and Canal Threaten to Upend Power Relations in North Caucasus
The southwestern Russian Republic of Kalmykia has long hoped to become a major player on the Caspian, which it argues could be achievable with the construction of a new port on that inland sea along with a new canal from there to the Sea of... MORE
Dagestani Chechens Ready to Stage Protests to Reclaim Historical Lands in Republic
An estimated 10,000 people participated in a rally in the Novolak district of Dagestan on February 23, to commemorate the victims of Stalinist-era repressions and mark the 76th anniversary of the forced deportation of Chechens and Ingush during World War II. Chechen activists at the... MORE
Some Turkic Balkars Want Their Own Republic in the North Caucasus
A group of people unexpectedly disrupted a large assembly of Balkar activists in Nalchik, the capital of the Northwest Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkaria. On February 2, dozens of youths stormed a hall where the congress of the Council of Elders of the Balkar People (CEBP)... MORE
Shapsugs, Russians Square Off Over Railroad in Sochi, Energizing Circassians Everywhere
Vladimir Putin is a specialist at “hybrid” operations, in which the nominal goal of any move covers up his real methods and motives. He has launched another such effort in Sochi, where his government is using plans for the construction of a new railroad as... MORE
Ingushetia and Karachaevo-Cherkessia Suffer From Serious Intra-Elite Conflicts
Russian experts have compiled a list rating the relative levels of intra-elite conflict plaguing southern Russia, including the republics of the North Caucasus. According to this ranking (produced by a group of researchers headed by the Expert Analytical Center “South”), political and business elites in... MORE
Another Step Toward the Realization of the Circassian Miracle
Just as the single blade of grass, no matter how small, inevitably breaks through a concrete walkway, no matter how thick, so, too, the Circassian nation is now overcoming a long history of repression and domination. Since the beginning of its contact with the Russian... MORE