Latest Articles about The Caucasus
Rights Organizations Recall Mass Killings in Chechnya’s Aldy
On February 5, the head of Makhachkala’s police force, Ahkmed Magomedov, was gunned down in the center of Dagestan’s capital. Magomedov’s driver and two his bodyguards also died in the attack. According to the investigators, the murder was likely to be connected to Magomedov’s professional... MORE
Georgia’s Arduous Attempt to Challenge Moscow’s Broadcasting Monopoly
On January 4, the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) inaugurated its first Russian language television channel: Pervyi Kavkazsky (First Caucasus) or 1-K. It initially operated as a cable television channel available within Georgia with simultaneous live broadcasting on the internet to reach a wider online audience.... MORE
FSB Accuses Georgia of Aiding al-Qaeda in the North Caucasus
Insurgent violence has continued unabated in the North Caucasus this week, with five federal servicemen dying in a shootout with insurgents in Chechnya yesterday (February 4) and Russia’s security services again accusing Georgia of aiding militants in the North Caucasus.A source in Chechnya’s security apparatus... MORE
Appointment of New Kremlin Envoy to the North Caucasus Causes Concern for Kadyrov
The appointment of Aleksandr Khloponin to the position of presidential envoy to the newly formed North Caucasus Federal District marked the beginning of a new era for the North Caucasus elites, represented primarily by the presidents of that region’s republics –Ramzan Kadyrov (Chechnya), Mukhu Aliev... MORE
Azerbaijan’s Public Diplomacy Vis-à-Vis Russia
Azerbaijan recently achieved a major public diplomacy success in late January by organizing the first Russian-Azerbaijan Humanitarian Forum in Baku, which assembled more than 100 representatives of the Russian intelligentsia. Rectors of universities, heads of news agencies, high profile journalists and writers, composers and artists,... MORE
After Silencing Criticism in Chechnya, Kadyrov Moves on to the Rest of Russia
On February 2, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov’s lawyer Andrei Krasnenkov announced that Kadyrov had appealed to prosecutors to launch a criminal case against Lyudmila Alekseyeva and Vyacheslav Izmailov on defamation charges. According to Krasnenkov, at a May 2008 press conference Alekseyeva made the statement: “Kadyrov’s... MORE
Au Pays des Lumieres: Gazprom’s Partner Eutelsat Disconnects Georgian TV Channel
On February 1, the Paris-based Eutelsat, Europe’s number one satellite television operator, disconnected Georgian Public Broadcaster’s First Caucasus TV Channel from its satellite, after a one-week successful transmission test. Eutelsat also declared that it was backing out of its own contract offer to the Georgian... MORE
Dagestan’s Political Uncertainty Joined by Turmoil, Technological and Social Failures
As of January 29, an estimated 50,000 inhabitants of Dagestan’s capital Makhachkala remained without central heating, water and stable electricity supply for several days. Officials said that cold weather was causing the disruption and they would attend to the problem. Over 100 protestors blocked railways... MORE
New Federal District Will Not Stabilize the North Caucasus
Against the backdrop of the unavailing year in 2009 for Russian soldiers in the North Caucasus, Moscow is trying to explain to the Russian people why other countries want to interfere in its internal affairs (www.infox.ru, January 16). Of course, one would think that it... MORE
Rights Activists Say Corruption in Chechnya is an “Unwritten Rule”
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev presided over a meeting of the collegium of the Federal Security Service (FSB) yesterday (January 28) devoted to examining the results of the agency’s work last year and its tasks for 2010. The Russian president said that the FSB’s main tasks... MORE