Latest Articles about North Caucasus
Idea of Merging Adygea with Krasnodar Region Reemerges Again
On November 6, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Adygea’s governor, Aslan Thakushinov. The governor boasted that economic conditions in the republic are improving under his leadership. According to Thakushinov, Adygea’s own revenues increased three-fold while the subsidies the republic receives from Moscow were reduced... MORE
Islamic State Apparently Wins Its Competition With Caucasus Emirate
Following the killing of the Ingush jamaat’s amir in Nazran on August 31, the Kabardino-Balkarian jamaat also experienced a major setback. The Russian security services managed to kill Robert Zankishiev, who was better known among the armed Islamist underground movement of the North Caucasus as... MORE
Ingush Jamaat Loses Another Amir
On October 31, government forces killed the leader of the Ingush jamaat, Beslan Makhauri, better known as Amir Muhammad. Makhauri was killed along with another insurgent, named Ilyas Vedzizhev, in the central market of the city of Nazran (Interfax, October 31). One strange thing about... MORE
Kabardino-Balkarian Experts Say Sources of Instability in Republic Are Unchanged
In an interview with the website Kavkazskaya Politika, Kabardino-Balkaria’s Deputy Interior Minister Kazbek Tatuev described the republic’s ongoing security dilemmas. According to the official, the underground movement in the republic is structured according to administrative divisions featuring an amir and his deputies (naibs) in each... MORE
Russian Analysts Call Ukrainian Involvement in the North Caucasus ‘Futile,’ but Gear up to Counter It
Russian experts have reacted to the recent establishment of a group in the Ukrainian parliament called “For the Free Caucasus.” One of them, Vladislav Gulevich, has predicted that the Ukrainian political forces that want to detach the North Caucasus from Russia will fail because Ukraine... MORE
Assassinations of Rebel-Connected Chechens Continue in Turkey
Another name has been added to the list of Chechens killed outside Russia: Abdulvakhid Edilgeriev was shot dead last month in Istanbul’s Kayasehir district, which many Chechens have made their home. The murder took place in broad daylight—at about 1:30 p.m., on October 1. The... MORE
Chechen Authorities Claim to Have Identified Channel for Supplying Recruits to Syria
Chechen authorities claim that a group of 20 young Chechens and Ingush studying in Moscow tried to leave Russia for Syria and were stopped at the last moment. According to Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov, Western security services are constantly seeking to undermine Russia’s prestige (Instagram.com,... MORE
Young Dagestanis Struggle to Be Drafted Into Russian Military
Many young Dagestani men wish to serve as conscripts in the Russian army, but are rejected on the grounds of their ethnic identity. In the fall of 2015, Moscow ordered the authorities to supply 1,500 conscripts for the Russian armed forces. During this past spring’s... MORE
Moscow Ramps up Campaign Against Non-Profit Groups That Receive Foreign Funds
Amid the continuing rift between Russia and the West, Russian authorities have cracked down on the remaining non-profit organizations with foreign funding operating in the North Caucasus. Russia’s Justice Ministry identified non-profit organizations from Karachaevo-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria and Chechnya as “foreign agents,” which will automatically lead... MORE
Demise of Caucasus Emirate Causes Rift Among Chechen Militants
Amir Abu Khamza (Ahmad Umarov), brother of the slain leader of the Caucasus Emirate, Doku Umarov, has made an unexpected statement. Over the past several years, Abu Khamza has been the amir (head) of the Majlis Shura (an advisory body) of the Nokhchiycho Velayat (the... MORE