Latest Articles about North Caucasus
ADYGEI LEADER PURSUES DE FACTO INCORPORATION INTO KRASNODAR KRAI
Adygeya, a small ethnic republic in the western North Caucasus, attracted attention in late 2004, when some regional and federal officials suggested merging it with Krasnodar Krai, an ethnic Russian-dominated neighbor (see EDM, April 6, 29, 2005). The proposal has been strongly resisted in Adygeya.... MORE
AUTHORITIES AND OPPOSITION FIGHT TO CONTROL LUCRATIVE POST IN KARACHAEVO-CHERKESSIA
On March 11 residents of Karachaevsk, the second-largest city in the North Caucasus region of Karachaevo-Cherkessia, voted for mayor. Yet two months later, the final result of the election is still unknown. Meanwhile, two local political forces are fighting each other to gain control of... MORE
YELTSIN, PUTIN AND THE NORTH CAUCASUS: CONTRASTING APPROACHES TO THE VOLATILE REGION
The death of former Russian president Boris Yeltsin has produced numerous evaluations of his legacy, including his policy towards the North Caucasus. Many people in the North Caucasus consider Yeltsin’s regional policy to have been more harmful than helpful. Residents of Chechnya are particularly angry... MORE
NORTH CAUCASUS-TESTED STRATEGIES USED TO COUNTER MARCH OF THE DISCONTENTED
Russian police severely beat many participants in the April 14-15 demonstrations against President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Known as the “March of the Discontented,” the rallies were organized by the “Other Russia” movement. Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s deputy press secretary, dismissed the recent... MORE
KREMLIN LETS ADYGEYA KEEP ITS VIRTUAL AUTONOMY
On December 13, the parliament of Adygeya, a region in the North Caucasus, voted to confirm Aslan Tkhakushinov as president of the republic. According to Russian law, the president of the Russian Federation nominates a candidate for regional leadership posts and the local parliament votes... MORE
RUSSIA SEEKS U.S., IRANIAN HELP TO SETTLE NORTH CAUCASUS CONFLICTS
Earlier this month the U.S. and Iranian ambassadors to Russia visited the North Caucasus, a region in southern Russia. U.S. Ambassador William Burns was in the North Caucasus from December 4-5, visiting Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, as well as Vladikavkaz and Beslan in North... MORE
RUSSIAN GENERALS LOSING HOPE FOR MILITARY VICTORY IN CHECHNYA
On October 12, Russian Colonel-General Yevgeny Baryaev told a meeting of law-enforcement agency representatives in Grozny, the Chechen capital, “At the beginning of October the situation deteriorated in Chechnya, especially in the mountainous Vedeno district.” As an example, Baryaev mentioned that one week earlier a... MORE
KREMLIN LOSES CONTROL OVER INGUSH POLICE
On October 15, Russia’s RIA-Novosti news agency reported that the Interior Ministry of Ingushetia, a region in the North Caucasus adjacent to Chechnya, would be strengthened by additional 200 policemen, mainly senior officials dispatched from other parts of Russia. Temporary police departments will be set... MORE
REBEL “NOGAI BATTALION” SPURS RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES TO OFFER ASSISTANCE TO NOGAI MINORITY
"The leaders of bandit formations plan to carry out several terrorist acts in several republics of the North Caucasus,” Dagestan’s interior minister, Adilgirei Magomedtagirov, told journalists on September 14. But despite the broad statement by Magomedtagirov, who has fully recovered from a recent attempt on... MORE
DISPUTABLE ANNIVERSARY COULD PROVOKE NEW CRISIS IN ADYGEYA
On September 9 Russian President Vladimir Putin signed three decrees that could deepen the crisis in the volatile North Caucasus. Putin issued the decrees to celebrate the 450th anniversary of the voluntary unification of Adygeya, Karachaevo-Cherkessia, and Kabardino-Balkaria with Russia. In the 16th century, a... MORE