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Latest Articles about The Caucasus
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SOCAR’s Complicated DESFA Deal Faces New Setbacks
Rovnag Abdullayev, the head of Azerbaijan’s State Oil Company (SOCAR), told reporters on September 5 that his company is waiting for an explanation from the Greek government for its violation of the originally agreed-upon privatization terms for Greece’s Gas Transmission System Operator (DESFA) (Azernews.az, September... MORE
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Chechnya Hosts International Islamic Conference
It has become common practice for the authorities to hold large international Islamic conferences in Chechnya. The latest such conference took place on August 25–27, 2016, in Grozny. Over 100 religious leaders from 30 countries took part in the gathering, including Jordan, Qatar, Morocco, Egypt,... MORE
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Free Trade Agreement With China Boosts Georgia’s Security, Strategic Regional Importance
On September 13, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Georgian government and Minister of the Economy and Sustainable Development Dimitry Kumsishvili stated at a press conference that Tbilisi and Beijing had finalized a free trade agreement between their two countries. “China’s Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng... MORE
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Circassians in Predominantly Ethnic-Russian Krasnodar Demand Recognition as Region’s Indigenous Population
Ramazan Khun, a Circassian activist from Russia’s Krasnodar region, posted an unusual online petition on the website Change.org. The petition calls on the Russian government, President Vladimir Putin, and the administration of Krasnodar krai to grant indigenous rights to the Circassians, who reside on the... MORE
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Kabardino-Balkarian Jamaat Suffers Serious Losses in Fight With Government Forces
Starting in 2014, the jamaats of the armed Islamist underground movement in the North Caucasus began, one by one, to pledge allegiance to the so-called Islamic State (IS). Kabardino-Balkarian insurgents split into those who became part of the Islamic State and those who remained loyal... MORE
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Ahead of Parliamentary Elections, Georgian Establishment Descends Into Political Mudslinging
On September 2, Georgia’s State Audit Office (SAO) fined a ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party member and its affiliated organization, as well as the donors to two opposition parties—the Alliance of Patriots and State for People—for illegal donations. The SAO’s actions appeared to reflect this... MORE
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Moscow Makes Arrests of Dagestani Interior Ministry Officials
On September 5, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested Rasul Saduev, the head of the Criminal Investigations Department (Ugolovny Rozysk) of the Ministry of Interior in the Dagestani city of Khasavyurt. On the same day, the security services also arrested police colonel Gimbat Likhiyalov,... MORE
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Russia Pushes ‘Gas Swap’ Plans With Iran Amidst Azerbaijan-Iran Gas Talks
The Presidents of Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran—Ilham Aliyev, Vladimir Putin and Hassan Rouhani, respectively—met in Baku, on August 8, and signed a Joint Declaration committing their countries to deepening cooperation on energy. In particular, the three sides pledged to collaborate on exploring oil and natural... MORE
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Random Deaths Increasingly Frequent, as Innocent Civilians Mistaken for Rebels in Dagestan
At 10:30 PM, on August 5, in the Dagestani village of Karamakhi, police on patrol came under attack by unidentified individuals armed with grenade launchers. Three police officers and a local resident received injuries in the incident. “Unknown individuals fired shots at the police officers,... MORE
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Amidst His Conflict With Russian Security Services, Kadyrov Seeks Putin’s Support
On August 25, the president of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, held an unusually late, evening meeting with the governor of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. The portion of their discussion published on the Kremlin’s official website gave no apparent indication as why this meeting needed to... MORE