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

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

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates this past week accused 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 March 28 murder of former Vostok special battalion... MORE

Claims relating to the re-opening the Turkish-Armenian border and imminent rapprochement continue to intensify ahead of April 24, the day the Armenian diaspora proclaims as "Genocide Day." The Turkish press has added to mounting speculation of a breakthrough based on a Wall Street Journal article... MORE

Opposition groups drew some 60,000 participants (by average estimates) for a rally in Tbilisi on April 9 and threatened to continue rallying on a daily basis. All Georgian television channels covered the advance preparations for the rally, as well as the event itself and the... MORE

Rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia has been fast tracked as diplomats intensified their work in the past two months on possible ways of addressing the issue (EDM, February 10, March 27). Ankara and Yerevan now appear poised to find a solution to their bilateral problems.... MORE

It took an eleventh-hour lobbying effort by the separatist leader of South Ossetia Eduard Kokoity to avert a serious fiscal crisis in the breakaway republic. On March 26, Kokoity led a delegation from South Ossetia to meet the Minister of Regional Development, Victor Basargin and... MORE

Only two days after Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov predicted that a formal end to the counter-terrorist operation in Chechnya would soon be announced, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on March 27 that improved security in the republic meant it is time to review tight restrictions... MORE

As early as the middle of 19th century, oil was extracted to the surface through wells on the territory of Dagestan. With the participation of Swedish oil industrialist Ludvig Nobel, several relatively shallow oil wells were operating in Dagestan by the end of that century... MORE

Chechnya was back in the spotlight at the end of last week because of the announcements made by its president, Ramzan Kadyrov, with regard to the fate of the counter-terrorist operation in the republic. In the best traditions of the Soviet past, a number of... MORE