Many observers were surprised by rebel leader Doku Umarov’s videotaped statement recently posted on the Internet announcing an end to the moratorium on attacks on Russian territory (https://archive.org/details/AmirIkDokkuAbuUsmanOtmenilMoratorijNaOperaciiVRossii), but this announcement should have been expected by those who follow the developments in the region. The... MORE

Even though over the past several years militants in the North Caucasus have not adhered to their old tactic of intensifying attacks in the spring-fall period, observers still tend to expect some escalation in the warmer period of the year in comparison to the cold... MORE

On June 29, a conference in support of the Syrian Circassians took place in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria. The participants in the conference demanded that Moscow relax visa rules and simplify the granting of refugee status to Circassians from Syria, who have reportedly experienced extreme hardship there... MORE

On June 24, the acting head of Dagestan, Ramazan Abdulatipov, said an amnesty for militants in the republic who want to return to civilian life could be announced. Abdulatipov made the surprise comments in an interview with Russian TV Channel One (Pervy Kanal). “We should... MORE

In less than a year, the Caucasus Emirate’s leaders have reversed their position on whether or not to view the uprising in Syria as a sacred jihad. The leader of the North Caucasian jihadist movement, Doku Umarov, spoke rather ambiguously in a video address last... MORE

Three years ago—on June 9, 2010—Russian authorities made a surprise announcement that one of the most significant and influential figures in the armed resistance in the North Caucasus, Emir Magas (a.k.a. Ali Taziev, Magomed Yevloev), had been captured alive and in good health (www.kp.ru/daily/24504/656718/). His... MORE

On June 19, a well-known Kabardino-Balkarian businessman, Albert Nazranov, was murdered in Moscow. An unidentified killer riding a bicycle shot him several times. Nazranov won notoriety in Kabardino-Balkaria as a close ally of the head of the republic, Arsen Kanokov. Nazranov was reportedly Kanokov’s “right... MORE

Dagestan’s head Ramazan Abulatipov said in an interview with Kommersant-FM Radio on June 20, while attending the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, that the new leadership of the republic regarded its economic development as the necessary condition for resolving its problems. In the interview, Abdulatipov said... MORE

The administration of Ingush leader Yunus-Bek Yevkurov is trying to portray the dynamic that is occurring in the republic as positive. As often happens in the North Caucasus, republican leaders tend to claim the achievements of the federal agencies as their own. In this case,... MORE

Throughout 2012, Russian leaders refused to admit that there were any Chechens fighting on the side of the Syrian opposition. Ramzan Kadyrov tirelessly reassured the public that reports of Chechens being involved in the armed conflict in Syria were false (https://rusnovosti.ru/news/214102/). Kadyrov was apparently concerned... MORE