The top Russian military commander, the Chief of the General Staff and First Deputy Defense Minister Army-General Nikolai Makarov during the Paris air show this week said: "Georgia is saber-rattling and preparing weapons to resolve its territorial problems by any means." Makarov accused NATO of... MORE

A well-known religious figure and former republican deputy prime minister have been killed in the latest wave of violence in Ingushetia, in which several soldiers and policemen have also been killed and wounded.On June 16, Kavkazsky Uzel quoted sources in Ingushetia's Interior Ministry as saying... MORE

On June 16 U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon saw himself compelled to order the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) to cease operations immediately, after 16 years of existence (Secretary-General's office press release, June 16). That same day (late on July 15 New York time)... MORE

On June 12 hundreds of protesters in the Elbrus district of Kabardino-Balkaria blocked the highway that connects this mountainous resort region with the republic's lowlands. The protestors were current and former tourist industry employees demanding shares in a tourist company, a just distribution of land... MORE

Russia is running the countdown to zero on the OSCE and U.N. observer missions in Georgia. The mandates of both are due to expire before the end of this month, their re-negotiation subject to a Russian veto. Moscow threatens to kill both missions imminently by... MORE

Reports from the North Caucasus suggest that the region's armed resistance movement remains highly active and - given the news of several high-profile assassinations in the region this past week - may even be stepping up its activities.On June 5, the 53-year old Interior Minister... MORE

The armed underground Islamist movement in Dagestan, the Sharia Jamaat, has claimed responsibility for the June 5 assassination of the republic's Interior Minister, Adilgerei Magomedtagirov. The Sharia Jamaat posted a relatively short initial claim on its website on June 9, in which it said that... MORE

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov claimed on June 10 that the leader of the armed Islamic separatist movement in the North Caucasus, Dokka Umarov, was wounded earlier this month during a special operation conducted along the Chechen-Ingush administrative border. "It can be said with a large... MORE

Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan has tightened his grip on power after municipal elections in Yerevan were controversially won by his Republican Party of Armenia (HHK). The country's main opposition groups have rejected the official results of the May 31 vote as fraudulent. The largest of... MORE

President Dmitry Medvedev traveled to Dagestan on June 9 and vowed to fight extremism in the North Caucasus just four days after the assassination of the republic's interior minister, Adilgerei Magomedtagirov, at a wedding ceremony in the capital Makhachkala (EDM, June 9). However, attacks apparently... MORE