Latest Articles about North Caucasus
Government Forces Ramp Up Activities in Dagestan after Volgograd Attack
On October 22, government forces deployed in Dagestan’s mountains were significantly reinforced when at least 500 servicemen arrived in the district of Untsukul. Government forces will reportedly also be sent to other districts in Dagestan’s mountainous region to improve the deteriorating security situation in the... MORE
Volgograd Suicide Bombing: Were the Sochi Olympics the Real Target?
Suicide bomber attacks in the North Caucasus rarely make headlines in the rest of the Russian Federation. Yet, any violent attack in Russia outside the North Caucasus, in ethnic Russian regions, is alarming to Russians, since they realize it could have affected them personally.The latest... MORE
Dagestan’s Government Celebrates Anniversary of Republic’s ‘Voluntary Accession’ into Russia
It appears that Moscow views appointing people in the regions who constantly declare loyalty to the Kremlin the best strategy to combat extremism, separatism and terrorism. At the same time, the region’s problems are regarded as a matter of secondary importance compared to the declarations... MORE
Violence in Kabardino-Balkaria Continues as Circassian ‘Officials’ Reiterate Support for Kremlin-Backed Sochi Olympics
On October 18, an explosion shook the village of Dugulubgei in the Baksan district of Kabardino-Balkaria. An improvised explosive device (IED) with an estimated force of 10 kilograms of TNT exploded at a local cemetery located next to a mosque. The remains of two people... MORE
Dagestan’s Plan to Bring Home Muslims Studying Abroad Unlikely to Work
Dagestani leader Ramazan Abdulatipov last week (October 14) directed the district and city anti-terrorist commissions in his North Caucasus republic to launch a campaign to recall all Dagestani young people now studying abroad, especially in “crisis countries” where “various kinds of “terrorist actions, revolutions and... MORE
Will the Moscow Riots Cause a Shift in Kremlin Policies Toward the North Caucasus?
On October 13, massive riots started in the Moscow district of Biryulyovo, which is located in the southern part of the city (see EDM, October 17). Many observers dubbed the events a traditional Russian pogrom against ethnic non-Russians. The participants of the riots stormed a... MORE
Kremlin Effort Backfires on Embarrassing Imprisoned Ingush Guerilla Commander Magas
On October 15, the trial of the former military emir of the Caucasus Emirate and emir of the Ingush jamaat, Magas (a.k.a. Ali Taziev, Magomed Yevloev) concluded. Magas was the emir of Ingushetia from 2001 to 2010 and the military emir of the entire North... MORE
Moscow Establishes Cadet Corps in the North Caucasus in a Bid to Create Loyalist Elite
In a search for solutions to the problem of the North Caucasus, the Russian government is returning to the practices of Russia’s Tsarist rulers. It is unclear who in the Kremlin is advocating and directing this approach, claiming that things were better under the tsars,... MORE
Russian Security Services Plan Wide Surveillance During Sochi Olympics
On October 7, the well-known Russian experts on the Russian security services Alexander Soldatov and Irina Borogan unveiled a report on the government’s preparations for the Sochi Winter Olympics. The report states that the magnitude of spying on visitors during the Olympics will be unprecedented... MORE
Georgia Will Not Turn Away from the North Caucasus, Expert Says
Following the August 2008 Russia-Georgia war, President Mikheil Saakashvili took unprecedented steps to reach out to the North Caucasus (see EDM, May 9, 2012). His government launched multiple “soft power” initiatives as well as cross-cultural and educational exchanges to open the republics of the North... MORE