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Latest Articles about The Caucasus
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With Sochi Games Approaching, Moscow Imposes New Restrictions on Personal Freedoms in the North Caucasus
On January 29, the Memorial human rights center reported that the police in Dagestan had compiled lists of Salafis and required people on such lists to notify the authorities when they intend to travel outside the republic. Suspected Salafis are required to submit such notifications... MORE
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Authorities in Chechnya Seek to Uproot Some Islamic Teachings
A powerful propaganda campaign against Salafism, Habashism and other prominent Islamic teachings was launched in Chechnya in mid-January. Chechen head Ramzan Kadyrov has brought up the issue of fighting unwanted Islamic teachings at every public appearance he has made since them, demanding that all population... MORE
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Moscow Fails to Draw up a North Caucasus Action Plan
Increasingly it is becoming obvious that the leadership of Ingushetia and Dagestan are following the example of the Chechen government in trying to portray their regions as safe places in order to claim they have at least some level of popular support. However, there is... MORE
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Beyond Shah Deniz: Azerbaijan’s Next-Generation Gas
Azerbaijan is prepared to supply European Union countries with natural gas for decades to come and in growing volumes. The giant Shah Deniz field, where the producers’ consortium has just approved Phase Two of development (see EDM, January 14), is planned to start commercial production... MORE
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Balts Again on Collision Course With Moscow Over Georgia
Moscow commentators have already denounced the Baltic countries for supposedly helping to organize the Ukrainian revolution (windowrussia.ruvr.ru/2014_01_24/Baltijskij-sled-na-kievskom-evromajdane-5748/), and they have condemned Estonia, along with Finland, for supposedly stirring up the Finno-Ugric nations of the Middle Volga region of the Russian Federation (apn.ru/opinions/article30878.htm). But Moscow and... MORE
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Economic Failures in Energy and Tourism Sector Plague the North Caucasus
As the Russian government has been investing tens of billions of dollars in the construction of Olympic infrastructure in Sochi, a previously hailed grandiose project for developing tourism in the North Caucasus has been gradually fading away. To provide a more appropriate background for the... MORE
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Non-Traditional Threats to Sochi
The recent warning from the US State Department not to wear patriotic clothing outside of the “ring of steel” in Sochi proper might have been thought to forestall an attack from Islamists. But there are many other “non-traditional” threats to foreign visitors to the Winter... MORE
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Azerbaijan Considers Long-Term Strategy on Natural Gas Exports
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev highlighted the start-up of the largest European energy infrastructure project, involving: Shah Deniz Phase Two of field development and three dedicated pipelines to connect that Azerbaijani gas field with European Union territory. The... MORE
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Russian Authorities Play Down Security Threat to Sochi Olympics
With weeks to go before the opening of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, US and Russian media reported that female suicide bombers might be targeting the upcoming event. The police reportedly visited hotels and distributed leaflets with a description of the potential suicide bombers,... MORE
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Purge of High-Level Dagestani Officials Continues
On almost a daily basis, Dagestan is rife with explosions, murders, rumors and arrests. All this makes the situation in the republic bleak, especially against the backdrop of the approaching Olympics in Sochi. For the first time, North Caucasians in general, and Dagestanis in particular,... MORE