Georgian officials have denied accusations made by the head of Russia’s main security agency that Georgian special services have aided al-Qaeda-linked terrorists in Russia’s North Caucasus.Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Aleksandr Bortnikov, who also heads Russia’s National Anti-Terrorist Committee (NAK), claimed during an NAK meeting... MORE

Local elections were held across Russia on October 11, with Chechnya and Ingushetia holding municipal elections for the first time. Opponents of the Kremlin said that the elections, held in 75 out of Russia’s 83 regions and won overwhelmingly by the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir... MORE

One of the trends surfacing in news reports about the North Caucasus insurgency this year is the presence of Azeri fighters within the rebel ranks. Chechnya’s president Ramzan Kadyrov also pointed a finger at Azerbaijan in a recent interview, claiming: “Most of the ammunition warehouses... MORE

Shootouts between insurgents and police and other violent incidents have been reported across the North Caucasus this week, a week which also marked the second anniversary of the proclamation of the Caucasus Emirate, the notional Islamic state declared by the radical Islamist wing of the... MORE

On October 5, a police unit in the southern Dagestani city of Derbent complained of being forced by their superiors to vote for a certain candidate in the mayoral elections set to take place on October 11. Seventy-five policemen signed the complaint to the Russian... MORE

Moscow’s Tverskoi district court yesterday (October 6) ordered the Memorial rights group Chairman Oleg Orlov to retract his statement that Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov was responsible for the death of Natalya Estemirova, the Memorial activist kidnapped in the Chechen capital Grozny and found murdered in... MORE

Chechnya yesterday (October 5) marked two holidays simultaneously: the birthday of President Ramzan Kadyrov, who turned 33, and Grozny City Day. In 2008, Grozny City Day was moved to coincide with the Chechen leader’s birthday. As the Kavkazsky Uzel website pointed out, Chechen officials explained... MORE

With the Adygeya jamaat announcing their intent to swear loyalty to Dokka Umarov, the chain of regional underground resistance groups has been completed and now spans the North Caucasus continuously from the shores of the Caspian to the Black Sea. The announcement came after years... MORE

Insurgent violence has continued across the North Caucasus this week. Russian media reported that a gun battle broke out today when policemen at a road patrol checkpoint in the town of Prokhladny in Kabardino-Balkaria stopped a car for a document check, and those inside opened... MORE

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has issued a new report highlighting the deteriorating human rights and security situation in the North Caucasus. The report's author, Swiss parliamentarian Dick Marty, said on September 30, one day after the report was issued: "In April... MORE