A multitude of rumors and speculation exists about the connection between Islamic radicals from Central Asia and the North Caucasus. The following will seek to separate rumor from reality, while analyzing the breadth, scope and policy consequences of these links. There are, first of all,... MORE

An Agence France Press (AFP) journalist covering the armed Syrian opposition made a statement about the presence of Chechen militants in Syria that alarmed the Russian public. Referring to the French journalist, the Euronews news agency alleged there were militant groups affiliated with al-Qaeda among... MORE

The Republic of Tatarstan, willingly or not, is starting to move down the same path as the North Caucasus region. This trend is exemplified by incidents in the republic’s capital Kazan on July 19, when an attempt was made on the life of the republican... MORE

On July 27, the RIA Novosti news agency reported that a Nalchik city court temporarily suspended the head of the Russian Treasury Department’s branch in Kabardino-Balkaria, Leonid Zrumov, from his post. A criminal case against Zrumov had been launched earlier, back on June 28. On... MORE

On July 18, Circassians activists from several countries, including Russia’s North Caucasus, called on the Circassian and Caucasian organizations to focus on helping the Syrian Circassians. The Circassians in the North Caucasus celebrate August 1 as Repatriate’s Day, and the celebrations this year are bound... MORE

Having been tipped off about the whereabouts of several members of the armed resistance in Dagestan, the republican security services identified their location on July 21. Special units of the FSB (Federal Security Service) and the Interior Ministry blocked the suspected rebels in a four-story,... MORE

A high-profile crime against the official Islamic hierarchy of the republic of Tatarstan took place in this relatively quiet Russian region on July 19, when the chief of the instructional division of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Tatarstan, Valiulla-khazrat Yakupov, was gunned down at... MORE

On July 21, a massive clash between ethnic Russians and Caucasians took place in the central part of the Russian city of Kislovodsk, in Stavropol region of the Northern Caucasus Federal District. Participants in the incident reportedly used knives and guns, and two people died... MORE

On June 13, 2012, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) obligated Russia to pay 60,000 euros ($73,680) to relatives of Ramzan Umarov, who was kidnapped by police on April 2007 in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan. The Dagestan Public Prosecutor’s office had opened a... MORE

Recent events in Ingushetia, the smallest republic of the North Caucasus, have forced observers not to discount the Ingush armed resistance’s capabilities. In 2011, there were 108 casualties in the ongoing conflict in Ingushetia, including 70 dead and 38 injured. That was three times fewer... MORE