The return of controversial billionaire Suleiman Kerimov to Dagestan was this month’s big news in the republic. International Airport Makhachkala, a company affiliated with Kerimov, acquired a majority stake in the Makhachkala airport for $9 million and is expected to finalize its acquisition later. The... MORE

On June 15, Ukrainian parliamentary deputy Oleg Lyashko initiated a bill on recognizing the Circassian genocide, citing the long period of subjugation and oppression of the Circassians by the Tsarist forces in the 18th and 19th centuries. The legislator referred to the fact that Georgia’s... MORE

The Russian government refuses to understand that the history of the groups they conquered and the history of the conquerors cannot be combined into one narrative. When the conquerors start reciting their heroic history, they come into conflict with those whom they conquered, who have... MORE

The distinctive feature of the kidnappings in the North Caucasus today is that they are apparently carried out only by Russian government forces. In fact, some analysts assert that the kidnappings of the earlier periods, ostensibly organized by Chechen militants between the first and the... MORE

On June 8, residents of the village of Vinsady in Stavropol region’s Predgorny district rallied against government plans to allow the construction of a mosque. Six hundred people joined the protest against the authorities’ decision, but went home after a local official reassured them that... MORE

At 3 a.m., on June 9, a car blew up on the road that connects the Dagestani villages of Kupa and Gunib. Two people, identified as Mukhtar Agaev and Shapi Nurmagomedov, died in the explosion. Both were residents of the village of Sagratl in Dagestan’s... MORE

In the first five months of 2014, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) prevented six terrorist attacks and killed 130 militants (echo.msk.ru, June 10). The absolute majority of these attacks took place in Dagestan, but there were also special operations in nearby regions that resulted in... MORE

As was previously announced, the leader of Ingushetia’s insurgents, Artur Gatagazhev (Emir Abdullah), was killed in the village of Sagopshi on May 24. Officers of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) blockaded and then attacked the house of a police officer where a group of militants... MORE

On May 31, members of Dagestan’s opposition participated in a large conference in Makhachkala, where they called on the republic’s governor, Ramazan Abdulatipov, to step down. According to the conference organizers, Abulatipov’s rule in Dagestan has resulted in “total corruption, poverty and unemployment, persecution of... MORE

On June 5, Ingushetia’s governor, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, estimated the number of ethnic Ingush who have fought on the side of pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine to be between 20 to 25 persons. According to Yevkurov, four of the Ingush volunteers were killed in hostilities in... MORE