Latest Articles about The Caucasus
Maksharip Aushev’s Murder Followed his Renewed Criticism of Status Quo
The longtime Ingush opposition leader and businessman Maksharip Aushev was shot to death in Kabardino-Balkaria yesterday (October 25). The incident took place around 9:30 a.m., local time, on a road near the village of Nartan in Kabardino-Balkaria’s Chegemsky district. The unidentified attackers fired more than... MORE
Chechen Authorities Claim Suicide Bombing Cell Eliminated in Grozny
The head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, Aleksandr Bastrykin, said yesterday (October 22) that the number of terrorist acts in the North Caucasus has increased by 57 percent this year. He told a meeting of the committee in St. Petersburg... MORE
Yevkurov Uses Traditional Ingush Clan Structures to Pacify the Republic
On October 13, Ingushetia.org reported that the President of Ingushetia Yunus-bek Yevkurov, had called on the Ingush clans, known as teips, to form a teip council. Citing the importance of the teips for Ingush society, President Yevkurov decided to recruit them to improve the security... MORE
E.U. Comments on Ankara’s Policy in the South Caucasus
The European Commission has released its “2009 Progress Report” and “Enlargement Strategy Paper” in which it assessed developments in Turkey. The strategy paper stressed Ankara’s role in contributing to the stability of the Middle East and the South Caucasus. Turkey’s efforts toward the normalization of... MORE
Kadyrov Again Declares Victory as Rebel Attacks Continue
Several terrorist attacks have been carried out in Ingushetia and Chechnya this week. Today (October 22), a bomb exploded as Isa Korigov, the head of the criminal police in the Ingush city of Malgobek, was getting into his car with his wife at their home... MORE
Azerbaijan can Resort to Multiple Options for its Gas Exports
Countries and companies along the Nabucco route in Europe (Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Germany) as well as Greece, Italy, and Switzerland are all expressing interest in purchasing Azerbaijani gas. If Turkey continues to block the transit agreement and if the E.U. and the U.S. fail... MORE
Turkey and Azerbaijan: “One Nation-Two States?”
The strains in Turkish-Azeri relations caused by Turkey's energy policies and its attemps to resolve its diplomatic problems with Armenia are beginning to dominate the agenda in Ankara’s relations with Baku.On October 15, in a district of Baku, Turkish flags decorating monuments commemorating the Turkish... MORE
Turkey: a Bridge or Bottleneck for Caspian Gas to Europe?
President Ilham Aliyev broke two years of silence regarding Turkey’s obstruction of Azerbaijani gas exports westward, while chairing an expanded session of Azerbaijan’s government on October 16 (www.day.az, October 17). Ankara’s stonewalling can cause further delays to the European Union’s Nabucco and Southern Corridor projects,... MORE
Dagestani Official Reportedly Calls for Anti-Islamist “Revenge Squads”
Police in Dagestan killed three suspected militants on October 18 in ongoing violence in the republic. The latest incident follows a rise in tensions surrounding the municipal elections held in Russia on October 11, which were particularly controversial in the Dagestani city of Derbent, where... MORE
FSB Assigned Control Over Operations in Chechnya and the North Caucasus
Events in Chechnya have once again grabbed the headlines this week. Most notable among them was the review of activities for the years of 2003 through 2008 undertaken at an enlarged session of the Operations Headquarters for Chechnya and the North Caucasus, chaired by Russian... MORE