Latest Articles about North Caucasus
LEAKED MEMO SHOWS KREMLIN FEARS COLLAPSE OF DAGESTAN
The increasing rebel attacks in Dagestan (see EDM, July 7) have finally forced Russian authorities to focus on the problems of the republic. Officials in Moscow now realize that the region needs special handling. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov recently conceded, "Of course we are... MORE
ATTACKS INCREASE IN DAGESTAN, BUT OFFICIALS REMAIN SILENT
Rebel attacks in Dagestan are becoming more frequent and more intense. Early on Saturday, June 25, yet another police car was bombed in Makhachkala. The patrol car was attacked as it passed a gas station on the outskirts of the capital. Barely 15 minutes later,... MORE
FEDERAL SWEEP IN BOROZDINOVSKAYA CREATES SERIOUS CRISIS IN NORTHERN CAUCASUS
On June 4, Russian federal troops conducted a mopping-up operation in the Chechen village of Borozdinovskaya, located in the north of the republic near the Dagestan border. This security sweep was a response to the rebel attacks that intensified in northern Chechnya this year (Chechnya... MORE
POPULAR SUPPORT INCREASES FOR DAGESTAN REBELS
May and early June brought intensified rebel attacks in Dagestan. On June 1, a bus carrying 20 policemen was bombed in Makhachkala, the capital (RIA-Novosti, June 1). Almost every night police patrols in the city are bombed, and the ambushes have recently spread to Khasavyurt.... MORE
ETHNIC RUSSIANS IN THE NORTH CAUCASUS FACE DECISION TO EMIGRATE
"The exodus of the ethnic Russians is creating a problem for the whole North Caucasus," Russian President Vladimir Putin told a group of Cossack atamans (chieftains) during a meeting in Rostov-on-Don, the capital of southern Russia. "The exodus of the Russians means a loss of... MORE
OSSETIA AND INGUSHETIA PROTEST KREMLIN PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS
On June 7, Taymuraz Mamsurov, the speaker of North Ossetian parliament, was officially declared the new leader of the republic. The process, which in other regions of Russia lasts for days or weeks, was completed in just a few hours. According to gazeta.ru, at 9:00... MORE
KREMLIN FORCES NORTH OSSETIAN PRESIDENT TO RESIGN
On May 31, Alexander Dzasokhov, president of North Ossetia, announced his early resignation, saying he wanted "to give way to a younger generation" within the Ossetian leadership. "I am making a precedent," he declared. "While all others are trying to extend their terms; I decided... MORE
ASSASSINATION IN DAGESTAN DAMAGES KREMLIN ATTEMPTS TO ATTRACT FOREIGN INVESTMENT FOR THE CAUCASUS
Early last year Russian President Vladimir Putin solemnly declared, "Armed confrontations and conflicts are becoming history. Even in the most difficult territory, the Chechen republic, the peace process is becoming irreversible" (grani.ru, March 3, 2004). Putin then called for investment in the North Caucasus. However,... MORE
RUSSIAN POLICIES DRIVE NORTH CAUCASUS INTO ARMS OF REBELS
On May 16 the separatist Kavkazcenter website published a decree from Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev, the new Chechen rebel leader after Aslan Maskhadov's death in March. Sadulaev ordered the insurgents to establish a new front in the North Caucasus. According to the decree, the "Caucasus Front" will... MORE
IS RAMZAN KADYROV LEAVING THE LIMELIGHT?
Ramzan Kadyrov, deputy prime minister and leader of the pro-Russian forces in Chechnya, likes to be the center of attention. He makes numerous public statements that tend to be quite extravagant. Last summer, for example, as the conflict in South Ossetia escalated, Kadyrov promised to... MORE