Latest Articles about The Caucasus
Local Court Rules Against United Russia Electoral Victory in Dagestani City
On December 3, the Derbent city court in Dagestan annulled the mayoral elections that took place on October 11. The decision was astonishing news, given that Felix Kaziahmedov the incumbent mayor of Derbent and a member of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, had been announced... MORE
Support for Circassian Nationalism Grows in the North Caucasus
Rising tensions in Kabardino-Balkaria (KBR) involving two neighbouring republics Karachaevo-Cherkessia (KChR) and Adygeya (EDM, November 25) have led to violence. On December 1, the headquarters of the “Khasa” Circassian in Nalchik was attacked by a group of 50 people described as well-built sportsmen. The attack... MORE
Deadly Crash of Nevsky Express Revives Fears of Past Bombing Campaigns
On November 27, the Nevsky Express, a train that shuttles between Moscow and St. Petersburg, derailed, killing 25 people. Over 90 people received injuries of varying degree of gravity, and one of them later died, raising the death toll in the crash to 26. Two... MORE
Putin, Tymoshenko Agree on Gas and Deride Yushchenko, Saakashvili
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko met in Yalta on November 19 and reached a number of agreements, confirming once again that their relationship is of a special character. Putin reiterated that Naftohaz Ukrainy, the debt-ridden state-controlled oil and gas... MORE
Insurgent Violence Reported in Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria
A spokesman for the Investigative Committee of the Russian Prosecutor-General’s Office, Vladimir Markin, announced today (December 1) that a blast on the Tyumen-Baku railway line in Dagestan yesterday (November 30) was a terrorist act. That blast, which investigators said equaled 300 grams of TNT, slightly... MORE
Circassians in Karachaevo-Cherkessia Plan Mass Protest
Circassians in the Republic of Karachaevo-Cherkessia have called for a national demonstration to protest against the denial of their civil, political and ethnic rights. Two demonstrations are set to take place on November 26 –the first in the town of Habez, located 18 miles to... MORE
Hazing Scandal Highlights Russian Military’s Complex Relationship with the North Caucasus
On November 17, the news of mass hazing incidents in the Russian Baltic fleet broke in the media. According to the reports, a group of Dagestani conscript soldiers had harassed their ethnic Russian –or Slavic, as some media outlets preferred to call them– peers for... MORE
Insurgent Violence Reported in Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan
The Russian federal authorities today imposed a counter-terrorist operation regime on part of Chechnya’s Achkhoi-Martan district, with the aim of neutralizing a group of militants hiding out in a wooded mountainous area. The regime means that military and law enforcement personnel will have the right... MORE
Turkish Diplomacy Reshapes the Armenian Political Landscape
The dramatic rapprochement with Turkey is having profound implications for Armenia’s domestic political scene and, in particular, among its diverse and volatile opposition. The main opposition player, Levon Ter-Petrosian, has defended President Serzh Sargsyan against what he sees as unjustified nationalist criticism and essentially offered... MORE
Medvedev Receives a Shortlist of Potential Leaders for Volatile Dagestan
On November 19, United Russia party leader Boris Gryzlov presented five candidates for the position of president of Dagestan to President Dmitry Medvedev. The candidates include the current leader of Dagestan, Mukhu Aliev; the deputy head of the Dagestani government, Magomed Abdullaev; an advisor to... MORE