Latest Articles about The Caucasus

Decision to Revive Akhmad Kadyrov Murder Probe Overturned

The investigation committee of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office on April 16 overruled a decision by one of its subdivisions to resume a probe into the May 2004 assassination of then Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, father of the republic’s current president. As RIA Novosti reported,... MORE

Counter-Terrorist Operation in Chechnya Officially Ended

In yet another apparent victory for Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin announced on April 16 that the counter-terrorist operation in Chechnya was over, marking an official end to the second Chechen war that began in September 1999 (North Caucasus Weekly, April 3). As the... MORE

“Nashi” Foray into Georgia Stopped in Time

On April 16, Georgian authorities prevented the Kremlin-coordinated youth group, Nashi, from provoking incidents at the South Ossetia demarcation line and in Tbilisi. A convoy of five vehicles carrying 20 Nashi activists, the "Moscow-Tskhinvali-Tbilisi Motorcade," had set off from Moscow on April 10, reaching Tskhinvali... MORE

Russian Forces Deploying for Possible Action in Georgia

Last week Georgian opposition parties prepared to mount street protests to force President Mikhail Saakashvili to resign, while Russian forces began military exercises in the Caucasus that might be a direct preparation for an intervention in Georgia -in response to the country being further destabilized.... MORE

Turkish-Armenian Dialogue on the Verge of Collapse

The nearly year-long negotiations between Armenia and Turkey look set to prove fruitless after Ankara has revived its long-standing linkage between the normalization of bilateral ties and a resolution of the Karabakh conflict. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly made clear this month... MORE

Georgia Opposition Escalates Rhetoric Amid Dwindling Numbers

Extra-parliamentary opposition groups continue pushing for regime change in Georgia despite the diminishing numbers at their daily rallies in Tbilisi. All of Georgia's television channels are covering the events -including the leaders' dangerously inflammatory rhetoric- in full detail (Rustavi-2 TV, Imedi TV, April 10-13). Predictably... MORE

Kadyrov and Co. Leap to Delimkhanov’s Defense

Officials of Chechnya’s pro-Moscow administration this week denounced authorities in the United Arab Emirates for accusing Adam Delimkhanov, the Russian State Duma deputy and first cousin of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov who is also the republic’s deputy prime minister, of being behind the murder in... MORE

Kadyrov Has Eliminated All Competitors

Few independent observers doubt that Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov was in some way connected to the shooting of Sulim Yamadaev in Dubai. In any case, Kadyrov has gained the most from Yamadaev's murder. “Kadyrov’s regime in Chechnya is absolute; no laws operate there, except Kadyrov’s,”... MORE