Latest Articles about North Caucasus
Russia No Longer Controls the Situation in Dagestan
The events taking place in the largest North Caucasian republic raise serious questions about the degree of control that the local authorities—and primarily the law enforcement agencies led by Dagestani Interior Minister General Lieutenant Adilgirei Magomedtagirov—have over the situation on the ground. Early on March... MORE
Strasbourg Court Again Rules Against Russia in Chechen Case
The European Court of Human Rights ruled on March 12 that Russia must pay damages to the families of 13 Chechens presumed dead after being abducted during armed raids in Chechnya between 2001 and 2003, the Associated Press (AP) reported. The Strasbourg-based court said Russia... MORE
Yevkurov Acknowledges Difficult Security Situation, Offers Amnesty
Ingush President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov has acknowledged that rebel attacks, which have claimed the lives of 18 members of the security forces in Ingushetia this year alone, are the republic’s most serious problem. “The biggest problem we are facing is the problem of criminals who carry... MORE
Kadyrov Youth Group Makes Appearance in Chechnya
Kavkazky Uzel reported on March 11 that a group it described as “Yunykh Kadyrovtsy”—the Young Kadyrovites—has appeared in Chechnya’s grammar schools. According to the website, Chechen television on March 10 showed an entire class in a school in the village of Novogrozny joining the group... MORE
Dokka Umarov Suffers Setback in Turkey
When Chechen refugees leave Russia to settle in foreign countries, they are mainly concerned with the physical safety of their family members. However, over the years, members of the Chechen Diaspora have become increasingly convinced that their status as political refugees has not given them... MORE
Kadyrov Again Invited Zakaev to Return to Chechnya
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has yet again called on Akhmed Zakaev, the London-based prime minister of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI), to return home. Interfax on March 3 quoted Kadyrov as telling reporters that Zakaev no longer represents anyone in London and that... MORE
Kadyrov Defends Honor Killings
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said last week that the bodies of seven young women with gunshots to the head were found dumped by roadsides in Chechnya late last year and early this year (North Caucasus Weekly, December 4, 2008 and February 6, 2009) had “loose... MORE
Kadyrov Faces Fresh Accusations of Ordering Hits Abroad
Kavkaz TV, the video arm of Kavkaz-Center, the radical Islamist Chechen rebel website, this past week posted a video clip in which a young Chechen man, Ruslan Khalidov, claimed that Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov employed him to kill Magomed Ocherhadji, a leader of the large... MORE
Six Policemen Killed in Ingushetia Bombing
Six policemen were killed and two injured in a bomb blast in Ingushetia on March 5. Russian news agencies, citing republican Interior Ministry sources, reported that the blast took place near the entrance to the village of Surkhakhi after law-enforcement officers discovered a roadside bomb... MORE
Wave of Unrest and Counter-Terrorist Operations Sweep the North Caucasus
Russia’s special services and police this past week resumed anti-terrorist operations against the members of the armed resistance movement across the North Caucasus. A steady stream of news has been pouring in from Dagestan that the law enforcement authorities there have been striking back against... MORE