Ahead of the first anniversary of the Russia-Georgia war (August 7), Russian and South Ossetian forces are creating small-scale incidents with a potential for escalation on both sides of the demarcation line (Interfax, international news agencies, July 27 - August 5). These incidents, ongoing since... MORE

The initial condemnation of the murder of the Chechen human rights activist Natalya Estemirova on July 15 was contrary to the muted reaction that Russian authorities had previously displayed in similar cases. President Dmitry Medvedev not only acknowledged that Estemirova was killed because of her... MORE

From June 29 to July 6, the Russian military staged massive Kavkaz 2009 exercises involving air force, army and naval units. During Kavkaz-2009, forces were deployed on Georgia's borders and in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The official aim of Kavkaz 2009... MORE

Prospects for the resolution of the Karabakh conflict look more uncertain following the latest round of negotiations between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Contrary to the international community's expectations, Presidents Serzh Sarksyan and Ilham Aliyev appear to have failed to clear the remaining hurdles... MORE

On July 20 President Dmitry Medvedev signed into law amendments to Russian NGO legislation. The changes make it easier for the NGO's to register with the government, to report on their activities and limit government agencies' ability to perform regular checks on NGO's (www.kremlin.ru, July... MORE

Almost a month and a half after the assassination of Dagestan's Interior Minister Police General Adilgerei Magomedtagirov on June 5, the federal government finally chose his replacement. The new minister is Federal Security Service (FSB) Colonel Ali Magomedov, a close associate of Dagestan's President Mukhu... MORE

Russian state-run gas giant Gazprom has cut its investment program in response to the difficulties it faces in the current economic downturn. These cost-saving measures contrasted sharply with Gazprom's pledge last year to become the world's largest company. Such efforts were supported by the Russian... MORE

Violence in Ingushetia continues unabated. The wreckage of a blown-up VAZ-2107 automobile with the remains of four unidentified people was discovered ten kilometers outside the city of Karabulak on July 26. A Karabulak police source said the owner of the car was a suspected rebel.... MORE

Kommersant reported today that the speaker of Chechnya's parliament, Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov, has held two days of talks in Oslo with Akhmed Zakaev, the London-based prime minister of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI). According to the newspaper, yesterday's meeting between the two was closed... MORE

The murder of human rights activist Natalya Estemirova continued to have international resonance on July 22, when Britain's Guardian newspaper published a letter signed by more than 100 prominent international figures calling on the Russian authorities to find her killers and to "end the killings... MORE