Latest Articles about North Caucasus
Rebels Attack Servicemen, Police in Chechnya
A serviceman with a Russian Defense Ministry special unit was severely wounded on February 23 when he stepped on a mine in Chechnya’s Shatoi district. According to Kavkazky Uzel, the incident took place in woods near the village of Kharsenoi during a special operation targeting... MORE
Five Militants Killed in Dagestan Operation
Security forces killed five suspected militants in three separate apartment sieges during a two-day operation in Dagestan, the Associated Press (AP) reported on February 22. The news agency quoted Makhachkala Police Chief Shamil Guseinov as saying that one of the alleged militants was killed on... MORE
Chechen-Ingush Deportation Anniversary Marked
February 23 was the 65th anniversary of Josef Stalin’s deportation of the Chechen and Ingush—accused by the Soviet dictator of collaborating with the Nazis—to Kazakhstan and elsewhere in the Soviet Union. Kavkazky Uzel reported on the day of this year's anniversary that all of Chechnya’s... MORE
The Changing Landscape of Islam in North Ossetia
One of the militants who participated in the September 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis—Vladimir Khodov—was a resident of the North Ossetian village of Elkhotovo. He was an ethnic Russian who converted to Islam and later worked as a cook in the detachment of Chechen militants... MORE
Ingush Authorities Blame Insurgency on Arabs and U.S. Intelligence
Yunus-bek Yevkurov marked his first 100 days as president of the Republic of Ingushetia in a somber atmosphere. During the past week, the authorities in Ingushetia, including the president, searched for three possible suicide bombers who allegedly arrived in Ingushetia from outside the republic to... MORE
Chechen Rebel Representative Reportedly Switches Sides
The press office of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov reported on February 16 that Bukhari Baraev, brother of the notorious Chechen rebel field commander Arbi Baraev, who was killed in 2001, and father of Movsar Baraev, who led the militants that seized hostages at Moscow’s Dubrovka... MORE
Ingushetia’s Violence Continues as Yevkurov Calls for Blood Feuds to End
RIA Novosti reported on February 19 that three suspected militants were killed during a special operation carried out by police in the village of Sagopshi, in Ingushetia’s Malgobek district. Newsru.com reported on February 18 that snipers had begun targeting policemen and servicemen in Ingushetia the... MORE
Ethnic-Based Governing System is Increasing Tensions in Dagestan
On February 2, following a series of highly unusual events, the newly appointed head of the Dagestani branch of the Russian federal tax service was prevented from taking his position. Vladimir Radchenko and his superior Pyotr Kovalev were not even allowed to cross the administrative... MORE
Dagestan’s Sharia Jamaat Suffers Series of Setbacks
Events in the Republic of Dagestan—one of the most unstable republics in the North Caucasus region—are again demanding attention. This time, however, what is noteworthy are not the usual reports of daily armed clashes, but the news propagated by the Russian mass media concerning the... MORE
Ingush President Accuses U.S. of Seeking to “Undermine the Caucasus”
In an interview published February 9 in the bi-weekly Novaya Gazeta, Ingushetia’s President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov accused U.S. and British intelligence of attempting to “destroy Russia” by sending terrorists to “Russia’s south.” In another interview published on February 9, with the weekly magazine Kommersant-Vlast, Yevkurov charged... MORE