Chechens suddenly learned from the Russian media that the authorities in Moscow were preparing to axe the federal program on socio-economic development of the Chechen Republic in 2008–2012. Chechnya was destined to receive about $3 billion through this program (https://regions.ru/news/2429193/). However, Moscow has proposed replacing... MORE

On October 19, a court in Nazran, Ingushetia, sentenced the republic’s leading opposition figure, Magomed Khazbiev, to 15 days arrest. Khazbiev, who was accused of obstructing police officers while they were on duty, was arrested immediately upon his arrival from Moscow, where he had organized... MORE

On October 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with the country’s top government officials on fighting terrorism in Russia. The list of participants at the government’s council on countering terrorist activities unmistakably pointed to the North Caucasus as Moscow’s primary concern. The heads... MORE

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visited Dagestan on October 2 (www.ria.ru/economy/20121002/764528570.html). While there, Medvedev stated that Moscow was prepared to inject additional cash into the North Caucasus in order to improve the socio-economic situation in the region. The prime minister’s choice of which North Caucasian... MORE

The killing of the well-known Sufi sheikh Said Chirkeiski by a Russian female suicide bomber has again raised the issue of those in Russia who convert from Orthodox Christianity to Islam. The assassination of the sheikh was carried out by Aminat Kurbanova (maiden last name... MORE

On October 13, Kabardino-Balkaria marked the seventh anniversary of the attack on Nalchik, the republic’s capital. Groups of militants staged simultaneous attacks on the headquarters of the police, Federal Security Service (FSB) and several other agencies in the republic. In the resulting violence, 35 police... MORE

The Moscow media have been carrying out “a campaign to discredit” the political leadership of Tatarstan and undermine investment in that Middle Volga republic over the last six months, Damir-Khazrat Mukhetdinov, deputy chairman of the Muslim Spiritual Directorate of European Russia, wrote last week. These... MORE

An unusual public protest took place in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, on October 14, when an estimated 70 protesters demonstrated against anti-Caucasian hysteria in the Russian media and government.  The protest was triggered by the harsh punishment given to participants in a September 30... MORE

In the wake of the opposition victory in Georgia’s parliamentary election (Civil Georgia, October 2), the jubilation or sorrow that was felt initially among Georgians and Western pundits alike, depending on whether they supported President Mikheil Saakashvisli or challenger Bidzina Ivanishvili, will be short-lived. Both... MORE

Against the backdrop of a presumably pacified Chechnya, the neighboring republic of Dagestan remains only barely under the government’s control, even formally. In contrast to Chechnya, the Kremlin has stumbled in Dagestan and has been incapable of easing the tensions there as the intense armed... MORE