President Vladimir Putin has been organizing so many military exercises in so many parts of the Russian Federation (see EDM, March 19)—a process that has required Moscow to shift units from one area to another—that it is virtually impossible to say just where he intends... MORE

A well-known Russian expert on the North Caucasus, Konstantin Kazenin, has warned that the paramilitary groups of North Caucasus leaders may end up destabilizing the Russian Federation. According to Kazenin, several leaders from the North Caucasus have created essentially private armies, which defend their patrons... MORE

As the militants of the armed Islamic resistance in the North Caucasus began taking oaths of allegiance to the so-called Islamic State (see EDM, January 30), the Russian authorities began looking for ways to confront them. On March 11, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev... MORE

Chechen involvement in the murder of the prominent Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, on February 27, was considered one of the most probable versions of what happened from the outset of the official investigation. However, the arrest of Chechen suspects by the Russian Drug Control... MORE

The Terek Cossack Military is undergoing profound changes as its leaders are systematically replaced with new figures, backed by the government. The change is especially visible in the largest part of the Terek Cossack force, the Stavropol region Cossack district. The previous ataman (chieftain) of... MORE

On March 11, the authoritative Dagestani newspaper Novoe Delo reported that the government of Dagestan plans to speed up the restoration of the Aukhov district in the republic, which was originally populated by ethnic Chechens. A pivotal meeting between Dagestani Deputy Prime Minister Rayudin Yusufov... MORE