Latest Articles about The Caucasus
Assassination of Interior Minister Marks a new Level of Political Violence in Dagestan
Dagestani Interior Minister Adilgerei Magomedtagirov was killed in broad daylight at the entrance to restaurant in Makhachkala on June 5. Even though Dagestan is known for political murders - and specifically the murders of top law-enforcement officials - it was the first time that an... MORE
Ramzan Kadyrov Squashes the Idea of an Independent Ichkeria
For the second time in the last three months, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has forced former leaders of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria to admit the error of their earlier ambitions to build an independent Chechen state during Aslan Maskhadov's presidency in front of... MORE
Rights Groups Highlight Continuing Abuses in the North Caucasus
Human Rights Watch, the Memorial Human Rights Center, and Russian Justice Initiative said in a joint statement on June 4 that the number of European Court of Human Rights judgments holding Russia responsible for serious violations of human rights in Chechnya has surpassed 100, but... MORE
Insurgent Violence Returns to Kabardino-Balkaria
Violence appears to be ratcheting up in yet another region of the North Caucasus - Kabardino-Balkaria. The republic's capital, Nalchik, was the scene of a large-scale rebel attack in October 2005 in which 35 law enforcement officers, 12 civilians and 92 rebels were killed, but... MORE
Social Protest and Political Struggle on the Rise in Dagestan
Electricity cutoffs in the capital of Dagestan, Makhachkala, have become the focal point of social protest actions in the republic. The Dagestani electricity distribution company imposed restrictions on the supply of electricity in Makhachkala on May 21 and extended the restrictions to several other Dagestani... MORE
Bombings and Shootings Reported Across North Caucasus
A month and a half after the President Dmitry Medvedev ordered an official end to the decade-long counter-terrorism operation in Chechnya, bombings and shootings have been reported there and in neighboring Dagestan, Ingushetia, North Ossetia over the past several days.A man was hospitalized with shrapnel... MORE
U.N. Secretary-General Revises Report on Abkhazia under Russian Pressure
Russia no longer needs to veto the U.N. Security Council's (UNSC) resolution on the mandate of U.N. observers in Georgia, which expires on June 15. Intimidated by Moscow's veto threats, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and some key UNSC members have bowed to Russian demands and... MORE
Bombings and Shootings Reported Across North Caucasus
A month and a half after the President Dmitry Medvedev ordered an official end to the decade-long counter-terrorism operation in Chechnya, bombings and shootings have been reported there and in neighboring Dagestan, Ingushetia, North Ossetia over the past several days.A man was hospitalized with shrapnel... MORE
Final Settlement of North Ossetian-Ingush Conflict is tied to Peace in Ingushetia
In a surprising statement, Ingush President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov said that violence in the republic was rooted in the unresolved Ingush-Ossetian territorial dispute. To stabilize the situation in the republic, Yevkurov promised that all displaced persons from North Ossetia would go back to their homes. According... MORE
The Hunt for Rebels in Chechnya and Ingushetia Enters a Second Week
Military operations targeting rebel fighters in Chechnya and Ingushetia were conducted between May 17-24 near the villages of Bamut and Alkhasty in the Assa river valley, which serves as a boundary between the two republics. The operation involved up to several thousand Chechen policemen, among... MORE