On June 22, the vice president of the International Circassian Association (ICA), Adam Bogus, announced that he was suspending his membership in the organization until its next leadership elections. Bogus, who is from Adygea, also refused to take part in an ICA conference that was... MORE

On June 27, the Circassian organization Adyge Khase held a conference in Karachaevo-Cherkessia. Participants accused the republic’s authorities of neglecting Circassian villages and putting pressure on Circassian businesses, calling for an extraordinary conference of the Circassian people. Circassians in Karachaevo-Cherkessia accuse the republican authorities of... MORE

On June 26, one day after the Russian security services killed Magomed-Ali Aliev and his wife Leila in Nazran, Ingushetia (Topwar.ru, June 25; see EDM, July 1), law enforcement agencies in the Chechen capital Grozny killed two suspected terrorists. According to the Chechen government forces,... MORE

After months of relative quiet, there have been unexpected reports in recent weeks of battles with militants in Ingushetia, Russia’s smallest republic. Among other reported incidents, police officers were apparently wounded during a special operation in the republic’s foothills in May (Echo.msk.ru, May 23), and... MORE

Deputy Russian Prime Minister Alexander Khloponin made a surprising statement earlier this month (June) about impending sweeping changes in how Moscow subsidizes the North Caucasus. “Instead of subsidies for the republics we will be developing ‘anchors’—key projects in which federal budget funds will be invested... MORE

A Russian publication has alleged that the “Stop Feeding the Caucasus!” slogan, which is popular among ethnic Russians, was invented by Vladimir Putin’s enemies to undermine his authority and ultimately destroy him politically. This is an unusual attempt to construct a collective identity of all... MORE

Following multiple pledges of allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) by rebel amirs in Chechnya and Dagestan, a new statement, allegedly on behalf of all of the former amirs of the Caucasus Emirate appeared on the Internet on June 21 (Sitemultimedia.org, June 21). A voice... MORE

Members of the so-called Islamic State (IS) have been quite active in the Pankisi Gorge, one of the most picturesque mountain gorges in Georgia, since the very start of the conflicts involving the IS in Syria and Iraq. Pankisi, situated in the northeastern part of... MORE

Following last year’s annexation of Crimea, Russia’s initial tactic was to propagate multiple connections between the people on the peninsula and the country’s population. A year later, North Caucasian activists say that the Russian government is insulating Crimea from the North Caucasus and preventing the... MORE

In the 18 months since the Sochi Winter Olympics, Russian entrepreneurs and Russian officials have taken advantage of the lack of international attention to increase their destruction of the natural environment in and around Sochi, to further weaken the housing and infrastructure of residents there,... MORE