On December 22, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s representative in southern Russia, Vladimir Ustinov, gave his annual speech on growing security threats in the North Caucasus, addressed to the Federation Council in Moscow. In listing the most dangerous threats to the security of the Russian Federation,... MORE

On December 17, Ingushetia’s President Yunus-bek Yevkurov and the head of North Ossetia, Taimuraz Mamsurov, signed an agreement on developing good-neighborly relations between the two republics. The agreement stipulates a plan of joint actions for the republican governments and government controlled civil organizations in 2010.... MORE

December 11 marked the anniversary of the beginning of the first Chechen War. It was then, in December 1994, that President Boris Yeltsin decided to militarily force the Chechen people to abandon the idea of independence. As is known, the Russian army lost that war... MORE

A suicide car bomber attacked a police checkpoint in Nazran, Ingushetia, yesterday (December 17), wounding 23 people –10 internal troops, three members of the patrol-sentry service of Ingushetia’s interior minister and 10 civilians, including three children. Law enforcement sources were quoted today as saying that... MORE

The authorities and opposition movements in the Circassian republics of the northwestern Caucasus have returned to negotiations after a series of protest demonstrations and violent attacks targeting the leaders of Circassian non-governmental organizations (EDM, November 18 and 25, December 3).On October 30, the parliament of... MORE

On December 12, the brother of the murdered Ingush opposition figure Maksharip Aushev, Mussa, stated that the investigation of the murder had made no evident progress since he was killed on October 25. That is despite the fact that Ingushetia’s President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov and Russian... MORE

On December 10, Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported that Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov might be appointed special representative responsible for the North Caucasus republics. This news raised speculation about possible candidacies for this position to a new level, as the appointment of a high-ranking official like... MORE

Dagestan’s acting Interior Minister, Aleksandr Trofimov, told reporters in the republic’s capital Makhachkala yesterday (December 10), that six terrorist groups totaling up to 150 members are operating in Dagestan. He said the six groups are operating in Makhachkala,Khasavyurt and Kizilyurt, Gubden, Gimry, Balakhani and southern... MORE

A series of terrorist attacks on Russian railroads in November, including the bombing of the Nevsky Express, which killed 27 people, made many wonder who would take such bold actions in different parts of Russia. The incidents were officially characterized as terrorist attacks, which in... MORE