Insurgency-related violence in the North Caucasus has substantially decreased over the past year. According to the Kavkazsky Uzel website, the number of deaths declined by 39 percent and the number of those injured were 73 percent lower in 2015 than in 2014. The number of... MORE

On March 17, Circassian organizations in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachaevo-Cherkessia unveiled plans to establish a new independent cross-regional organization. The move by Circassian activists followed an announcement by the government of Karachaevo-Cherkessia that it would shut down the republic’s Circassian organization, the Adyge Khase–Circassian Parliament. “The... MORE

Ramzan Kadyrov’s substantial interest in the development of the Chechen special forces has been noted before (see EDM, March 27, 2015). Chechnya’s ruler tries to portray these units as model Russian armed forces. A retired officer of the Alpha Group, the Russian elite special forces... MORE

In an attempt to decrease tensions in the North Caucasus, the Russian authorities set out to register all potential extremists who might carry out a terrorist attack, in the opinion of the police and the Federal Security Service (FSB). Since the start of 2016, reports... MORE

On March 16, the International Crisis Group (ICG) presented a report titled “The North Caucasus Insurgency and Syria: An Exported Jihad?” According to the ICG, the Russian security services opened the borders to allow radicals from the North Caucasus to travel freely to the Middle... MORE

On March 16, a well-known human rights activist, Igor Kalyapin, who heads the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, was attacked in Grozny, Chechnya. Soon after Kalyapin’s arrival in Grozny, the administration of the hotel where he was staying asked him to leave the premises.... MORE

Enemies of the well-known Salafist preacher Khamzat Chumakov have been pursuing him for a while. In 2010, an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded under the Salafist cleric’s car. Chumakov was badly wounded in the blast, losing his leg, but he remained alive and returned to... MORE

Operations by Russian security forces against militants of the armed Islamist underground movement in Dagestan are less frequent now than in previous years, yet they are still a part of life for local residents. Following a special operation near the village of Avadan, in southern... MORE

The government of the Georgian breakaway territory of Abkhazia plans to ramp up its attempts to bring the large Abkhaz diaspora back to the republic. Currently, an estimated 3,500 Abkhaz repatriates are permanently residing in the republic and up to 8,000 have received Abkhazian passports.... MORE

On March 9, unidentified assailants attacked a group of journalists and rights activists in Ingushetia. An estimated 15–20 armed men stopped the minivan with 8 rights activists and journalists in the border area between Ingushetia and Chechnya. The armed men forced the passengers of the... MORE