Latest Articles about The Caucasus
Violence in Kabardino-Balkaria Continues as Circassian ‘Officials’ Reiterate Support for Kremlin-Backed Sochi Olympics
On October 18, an explosion shook the village of Dugulubgei in the Baksan district of Kabardino-Balkaria. An improvised explosive device (IED) with an estimated force of 10 kilograms of TNT exploded at a local cemetery located next to a mosque. The remains of two people... MORE
Dagestan’s Plan to Bring Home Muslims Studying Abroad Unlikely to Work
Dagestani leader Ramazan Abdulatipov last week (October 14) directed the district and city anti-terrorist commissions in his North Caucasus republic to launch a campaign to recall all Dagestani young people now studying abroad, especially in “crisis countries” where “various kinds of “terrorist actions, revolutions and... MORE
Georgian Presidential Candidate Frontrunner Says He Will Not Run in a Second Round
On October 17, Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili declared that the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) coalition’s presidential candidate, Giorgi Margvelashvili, would be well advised not to participate in a second round of the upcoming presidential election should he fail to garner over 50 percent of... MORE
Will the Moscow Riots Cause a Shift in Kremlin Policies Toward the North Caucasus?
On October 13, massive riots started in the Moscow district of Biryulyovo, which is located in the southern part of the city (see EDM, October 17). Many observers dubbed the events a traditional Russian pogrom against ethnic non-Russians. The participants of the riots stormed a... MORE
Kremlin Effort Backfires on Embarrassing Imprisoned Ingush Guerilla Commander Magas
On October 15, the trial of the former military emir of the Caucasus Emirate and emir of the Ingush jamaat, Magas (a.k.a. Ali Taziev, Magomed Yevloev) concluded. Magas was the emir of Ingushetia from 2001 to 2010 and the military emir of the entire North... MORE
The Future of the Railway Link Between Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey Is Still Vague
Suspending the construction of large infrastructure projects is one of the primary accusations that President Mikheil Saakashvili and his team make against the government of Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili in the run up to the presidential elections scheduled for October 27. These projects would arguably... MORE
Moscow Establishes Cadet Corps in the North Caucasus in a Bid to Create Loyalist Elite
In a search for solutions to the problem of the North Caucasus, the Russian government is returning to the practices of Russia’s Tsarist rulers. It is unclear who in the Kremlin is advocating and directing this approach, claiming that things were better under the tsars,... MORE
Russian Security Services Plan Wide Surveillance During Sochi Olympics
On October 7, the well-known Russian experts on the Russian security services Alexander Soldatov and Irina Borogan unveiled a report on the government’s preparations for the Sochi Winter Olympics. The report states that the magnitude of spying on visitors during the Olympics will be unprecedented... MORE
Georgia Will Not Turn Away from the North Caucasus, Expert Says
Following the August 2008 Russia-Georgia war, President Mikheil Saakashvili took unprecedented steps to reach out to the North Caucasus (see EDM, May 9, 2012). His government launched multiple “soft power” initiatives as well as cross-cultural and educational exchanges to open the republics of the North... MORE
Activist Says Abkhaz Are Not Genuine Allies of Circassians
Circassians in the North Caucasus were infuriated by the speech delivered by Abkhazia’s president, Alexander Ankvab, at an official celebration. On September 29, the leader of the Georgian breakaway region delivered a speech to a meeting in Sukhumi dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the... MORE