Russia’s official position on the current conflict in eastern Ukraine has been seen as especially hypocritical, given its own treatment of secessionist efforts of Chechnya. While Moscow supports and promotes ethnic-Russian separatism in Ukraine, in the North Caucasus it brutally suppressed persistent attempts of the... MORE

On May 21, Circassian communities worldwide commemorated the 150th anniversary of the end of the Russian-Circassian war. According to some accounts, the war lasted for a hundred years—from 1763, when Russian armies invaded Eastern Kabarda, to 1864 when the Russian military paraded at the place... MORE

Russia is an extremely diverse country, but unlike in the United States, legislation is uniform across its entire territory. In the Russian Federation, the distinct features of regions and ethnic differences are often ignored. Nevertheless, Moscow treats different regions quite differently in terms of its... MORE

As the Crimean Tatars commemorated the 70th anniversary of their deportation from Crimea on May 18, many wondered what the Tatars’ next moves under the Russian occupation will be. Having already deported ethnic groups en masse—the Karachays in November 1943, the Chechens and Ingush in... MORE

On May 13, a 25-year-old Circassian, Timur Ashinov, died in the hospital in the city of Adygeisk in the Republic of Adygea. Ashinov and a fellow Circassian were attacked by a mob at a pizzeria in the nearby city of Krasnodar in Krasnodar region on... MORE

Alexander Khloponin’s resignation as the Russian president’s representative in the North Caucasus Federal District could not have surprised anyone who has followed developments in that region. Analysts anticipated the resignation of Moscow’s envoy for the past two years, when it became apparent that the project... MORE

On May 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree abolishing the Ministry of Interior main directorates in all of Russia’s federal districts except for the North Caucasus Federal District (https://www.regnum.ru/news/kavkaz/dagestan/1798913.html).By retaining the special police structure in the North Caucasus, Putin recognizes that the situation... MORE

Many observers see striking parallels between the situations in Ukraine and in the North Caucasus; and many, unsurprisingly, have started asking whether the annexation of Crimea and the fueling of separatism in southeastern Ukraine will have repercussions for Russia in the North Caucasus.At a conference... MORE

Against the backdrop of persistent tension in Dagestan, rumors are spreading in the republic that Ramazan Abdulatipov will be replaced sometime in May. Zakir Magomedov, a commentator with the Dagestani newspaper Novoe Delo, argued Dagestan’s present leadership is solving Dagestan’s problems but that replacing Abdulatipov... MORE

On September 24, 2006, almost immediately after Doku Umarov was appointed president of Ichkeria, he started reviewing the structure of the armed jihadi insurgency in Russia. Umarov merged his few jihadi subordinates in the Volga and the Ural regions with the North Caucasian militancy, establishing... MORE