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Latest Articles about The Caucasus
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Kabardino-Balkarian Governor’s Resignation Likely Tied to Sochi Olympics
On December 6, the governor of Kabardino-Balkaria, Arsen Kanokov, unexpectedly stepped down from his position. His abrupt resignation spurred speculation among analysts about the reasons and Moscow’s future plans for this North Caucasian republic. The situation in Kabardino-Balkaria is particularly significant because of its connection... MORE
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Azerbaijan After Vilnius Summit: More Questions than Answers
On November 29, Azerbaijan and the European Union signed a visa-facilitation agreement in Vilnius, Lithuania, within the framework of the Eastern Partnership summit. The agreement was signed by the foreign minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, by Linas Linkevicius, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania in... MORE
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Officers of Elite Russian Forces Train Chechens
Reports of clashes between government forces and militants in Chechnya are rare these days. However, the absence of such reports is not always due to an absence of clashes. Russia’s information policy with regard to Chechnya is pointedly positive and thus practically excludes the very... MORE
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Attacks on Churches and Mosques in Russia on the Rise
Against the backdrop of anti-Islamic hysteria launched by the Russian government’s propaganda machine, it is hard not to notice the negative trend in such a delicate matter as interfaith dialogue in the country. Deliberately or not, a negative image of Muslims has been firmly established... MORE
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North Caucasus Prosecutor’s Office Reports Rise in Extremism-Related Crimes
North Caucasus Federal District Deputy Prosecutor General Andrei Medvedev, recently reported that the number of extremism-related crimes in the North Caucasus rose by 40 percent in the first three quarters of 2013 in comparison to the same period of 2012. According to the official, 69... MORE
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Kabardino-Balkarian Government Policy Failures Raise Ethnic Tensions
Inter-ethnic tensions unexpectedly flared up in Kabardino-Balkaria at the end of November. Residents of the ethnic Balkar–majority town of Belaya Rechka blocked the roads into the town and seized surrounding land to build homes. The republican government, made up mainly of ethnic Kabardinians (a.k.a. Circassians)... MORE
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Georgia’s Association with the EU: Start of a Complicated and Hazardous Journey
During the third Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius, on November 28–29, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and Georgia’s Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze initialed the Georgia-EU Association Agreement as well as the deal on a Deep and Comprehensive... MORE
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North Caucasians in Russian Capital Increasingly Target of Hate Crimes
The Russian government is unable to restrain the nationalist trends spreading in the country. On December 11, 2010, Russian nationalists demonstrated just 20 meters away from the walls of the Kremlin in response to the killing of soccer fan Yegor Sviridov in an altercation with... MORE
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Moscow’s Effort to Debunk Circassian ‘Genocide’ Backfires
Russian efforts to discredit Circassian arguments that that nation was subjected to an act of “genocide” by Tsarist forces in 1864 in Sochi, the site of next February’s Winter Olympiad, have backfired on Moscow. Not only have Russian books and articles provided additional evidence that... MORE
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Georgia Between Russia and the European Union: Toward the Vilnius Summit and Beyond (Part Two)
To balance its contradictory goals—advancing Georgia’s Western orientation while conciliating Russia—Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili’s government initiated a “reset” of Georgia-Russia relations from the moment it took office in November 2012 (see Part One, EDM, November 25).Twelve months later, Georgian Dream leaders have no significant Russian... MORE