Latest Articles about The Caucasus
Suicide Bomber Targets Interior Ministry in Grozny
A bomb blast near the headquarters of Chechnya’s Interior Ministry in Grozny on May 15 reportedly killed two policemen and wounded at least five other people, including civilians. According to Itar-Tass, the explosive device was detonated by a suicide bomber at a police checkpoint located... MORE
Erdogan Reassures Azerbaijan on Turkey’s Border Policy with Armenia
On April 23 it was revealed that Turkey and Armenia signed a roadmap outlining the rapprochement process between the two countries. According to the roadmap, Armenia must accept the Kars agreement signed between Turkey and the USSR in 1921 marking the border between Turkey and... MORE
Kazakhstan Balances NATO and Pro-Russian Alliances
On April 21 Kazakhstan's Defense Minister Daniyal Akhmetov announced the country's refusal to participate in the NATO military exercises in Georgia. Cooperative Longbow-Cooperative Lancer 2009 was scheduled for May 6 to June 1 in Georgia, originally involving forces from 18 nations. Akhmetov did not provide... MORE
Radical Georgian Opposition Considers Shift in Tactics
On May 11 in Tbilisi, a four-member delegation of the opposition's coalition held talks with President Mikheil Saakashvili and Parliamentary Chairman Davit Bakradze. This was the first time the extra-parliamentary opposition took up the government's often-repeated invitation to hold talks, since the start of daily... MORE
Dagestan Gears Up for Change as the End of its President’s Term Nears
The first president of Dagestan, Mukhu Aliev, has about six months left before he is either reappointed for a second term or replaced. The anticipated end of Aliev's presidential term has sparked a remarkable wave of activity in the republic.On April 28, a nephew of... MORE
Moscow and Grozny Maintain the Illusion that the War has Ended
Several weeks after the official announcement of the end of the counter-terrorist operation in Chechnya on April 16, little has changed in the region. It is evident that the situation in the republic remains tense. Reports from the region indicate that, notwithstanding the end of... MORE
Policemen in Chechnya Killed in Attacks
A police officer in Chechnya was killed and three others seriously wounded May 3 when militants opened fire on the cars in the republic’s Achkhoi-Martan district, RIA Novosti and The Associated Press (AP) reported on May 4. AP quoted Chechnya’s Interior Ministry as saying that... MORE
Kadyrov Says He’ll Step Down—in 10 Years
In an interview with Die Presse published May 3, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said that he will step down in ten years, when the republic is “flourishing.” Kadyrov told the Austrian newspaper that Chechnya in 2019 will be a “flourishing republic with the most handsome... MORE
Federal Forces in Chechnya Will Reportedly be Reduced and Restructured
Itar-Tass reported on May 6 that the number of federal troops in Chechnya will be cut in half and that the Combined Group of Forces in the North Caucasus will be transformed into a new security body provisionally called the Committee for Maintaining Security in... MORE