Latest Articles about North Caucasus
Chechen Security Sources Predict New Attacks in Republic
There has been a fresh wave of insurgent attacks and shootouts between rebels and security forces across the North Caucasus as the security situation in the region remains highly problematic.A bomb went off on a railroad bed in Dagestan today. No one was hurt in... MORE
Insurgent Attacks and Apparent Government-Backed Counter-Violence Plague Dagestan
Dagestan's President Mukhu Aliev has denounced a claim by two leading Russian human rights activists that Dagestan has illegal prisons and extrajudicial killings.On September 8, the Memorial human rights center made public an open letter signed by its head, Oleg Orlov, and Lev Ponomarev, head... MORE
Chechen Government Inadequately Prepared for Suicide Bombers
As Russian President Dmitry Medvedev finally had to admit, the situation in the North Caucasus is slowly changing for the worse and not for the better (Prime-Tass, August 19). Medvedev's admission stands in stark contrast to the public position of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who... MORE
An Anonymous Letter Spreads Fear Among Dagestan’s Civil Activists
Lengthy leaflets attacking Islamists in Dagestan and their supporters began to appear in Makhachkala during the first week of September and have alarmed human rights activists and journalists in the republic. The authors of the leaflet state that they have a list of 250 people... MORE
North Caucasus Security Forces Claim Some Successes, but Attacks Continue
Violent attacks continued in the North Caucasus this past week, as security forces claimed some successes against insurgents against the backdrop of an overall spike in violence in the region.In Chechnya, two servicemen were wounded in attacks by militants in the republic's Urus-Martan district on... MORE
The Role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the North Caucasus
On August 15 the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS reported that "unknown suspects desecrated the Orthodox holy cross in the mountains of Adygeya." The report came from Maikop the capital city of the Republic of Adygeya, located about 40 miles to the north of Sochi, the... MORE
More Russian Troops Headed to Ingushetia
According to independent sources, several additional Russian army units are headed to the special-operations zone where the insurgency in Ingushetia has mounted relentless strikes (www.ingushetia.ru, August 14). As these troops arrive in the area with five Grad missile launchers and several armored personnel carriers, it... MORE
Black Thursday in the North Caucasus
Last Thursday was Dagestan's deadliest day in recent years. While all three North Caucasus republics of Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan reported deadly clashes between insurgents and police forces that day, the latter claimed most of the casualties.In the Dagestani city of Buinaksk, at approximately 8:00... MORE
Moscow’s Policies in Ingushetia Receive a Politically Damaging Setback
On August 17 unknown assailants drove a minivan loaded with explosives into the courtyard of the district police headquarters in Nazran, the principal city in Ingushetia, where it was detonated. Twenty-one policemen died in the attack and over one hundred people were wounded (ITAR-TASS, August... MORE
Western North Caucasus: Moscow’s Choices
Recent changes to the federal laws in Kabardin-Balkaria concerning education in schools have provoked controversy. "Representatives of minorities will be able to teach their children their mother tongues only at home," - lamented Muazin Khachetlov, the head of the Kabardin Congress in Kabardin-Balkaria. Khachetlov said... MORE