On March 18, Russia’s Interior Ministry officially confirmed a massive relocation of ministry troops from Chechnya to Dagestan. The official reason given for the movement of the troops was to “stabilize” the situation in Dagestan. A temporary command was set up in Dagestan to coordinate... MORE

The South Caucasus has emerged as a battleground between Iran and its adversaries. Recent weeks have seen Iranian assassination attempts against Israeli diplomats in Baku and Tbilisi, a massive Israeli-Azerbaijani arms deal (EDM, March 7) and, most recently, the announcement that Azerbaijan’s national security ministry... MORE

On March 16, a Russian parliamentary delegation flew to Syria to examine the plight of Syria’s Circassians and their possible repatriation to the North Caucasus. The delegation included members of the Federation Council, the upper chamber of Russia’s parliament, and regional officials and activists from... MORE

With a flurry of conventions and behind-the-scenes discussions, Armenia’s leading political forces have officially begun preparations for upcoming parliamentary elections that will be critical for the political future of President Serzh Sargsyan. The election campaign is shaping up to be essentially a three-horse race between... MORE

In Kabardino-Balkaria today (March 16), three alleged militants were killed in a shootout with law-enforcement personnel. The incident took place at around 6:40 a.m., local time, on the border between the republic’s Baksansky and Prokhladnensky municipal districts. According to Russia’s Anti-Terrorist Committee (NAK), police tried... MORE

Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported on March 3 that “the head of the Ingush bandit underground, Adam Tsyzdoev, was liquidated in a special operation” (https://lenta.ru/news/2012/03/03/kill/). Akhmetgeri Tsechoev was killed in the same special operation, which was carried out jointly by Ingushetia’s branches of... MORE

On March 12, Russian security forces killed six suspected rebels in the village of Mir in Kabardino-Balkaria’s Chegem district. A counter-terrorism operation regime was introduced in this small settlement with its name that, ironically, translates into English as “Peace.” According to government reports, five of... MORE

Bidzina Ivanishvili acts as proprietary leader of his Georgian Dream movement and lesser dependent groups. Having entered politics only five months ago (October 2011), he sounds confident of winning the upcoming elections, on the strength of the movement that he funds from his wealth. However,... MORE

The latest update of Forbes’ billionaires’ list (www.forbes.com, March 7) raises Bidzina Ivanishvili’s net worth to $6.4 billion, up from the $5.5 billion listed by Forbes and confirmed by Ivanishvili’s office in 2011. The updated figure amounts to more than one half of Georgia’s annual... MORE

On March 9, a Russian military helicopter was hit by rebels in Dagestan’s Karabudakhkent district, in the vicinity of the village of Gubden. The helicopter’s crew managed to land the aircraft and reportedly avoided casualties. Still, the attack was just the latest indicator of the... MORE