On October 13, the Georgian government unilaterally introduced a visa-free regime for the North Caucasians. Tbilisi’s surprise move evoked divergent reactions in Russia - furious criticism from Russian officials and tacit appreciation across the North Caucasus. The new rules affect Adygea, Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria,... MORE

September 27 marked the second visit by Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliev to Uzbekistan since 2004. Meeting with Uzbek President, Islam Karimov, Aliev emphasized the high degree of bilateral political relations, while calling for a boost in their lagging economic relationship (www.ru.trend.az, September 29; www.rian.ru,  September... MORE

On October 13, a rally took place in Nalchik in commemoration of large scale armed clashes in the city on the same day back in 2005. Relatives of victims from the opposing sides, the police and the insurgents, attended the gathering. An estimated 35 policemen... MORE

During a visit to Dagestan on September 21, Moscow’s envoy to the North Caucasus, Aleksandr Khloponin, urged the republican leadership to use the opportunities that had been provided by the federal authorities to make advances in economic development. “The time when it was possible to... MORE

On October 13, the Chechen rebel website Daymohk.org posted an item following up on the video posted by the site on October 7, in which three top rebel field commanders –Khusein Gakaev, Aslambek Vadalov and Tarkhan Gaziev– said they had renounced their oath of allegiance... MORE

Since little statistical data exists, it is rather difficult to calculate the exact number or relative percentages of Muslims and Christians living in today’s Abkhazia. The leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church in Abkhazia always tries to pretend that there are two or three times... MORE

Municipal elections in Dagestan on October 10 were marred by violence and fraud. In the republic’s Levashi district, the head of the village of Khadzhalmakhi, Abdulmuslim Nurmagomedov, died during a massive fight in which several other people were injured and taken to the hospital. The... MORE

On October 7 in Baku, BP signed a production sharing agreement with Azerbaijan’s State Oil Company (SOCAR) for the exploration and development of the Shafag and Asiman gas blocks in Azerbaijan’s Caspian offshore sector. The new CEO of BP, Robert Dudley, witnessed the signing during... MORE

In yet another sign of a serious split within the ranks of the North Caucasus insurgency, three top Chechen rebel field commanders have renounced their oath of allegiance to Doku Umarov, the Chechen rebel leader and “emir” of the North Caucasus Emirate. They then proceeded... MORE

After a split occurred in the North Caucasus armed resistance movement among the Chechen Jamaat, media and pseudo-analysts once again started to actively talk about Chechen connections with al-Qaeda. Over the course of eleven years of war in the North Caucasus, journalists and politicians from... MORE