Latest Articles about The Caucasus
Azerbaijan Opening Supply Route to Afghanistan
As the United States prepares to increase its military deployment in Afghanistan, attention is being devoted to the question of supply routes for these and other coalition forces. The U.S. European Command (EUCOM) held a conference in Baku on March 9 and 10 aimed at... MORE
Caucasus Emirate: Virtual Myth or Reality?
The second Chechen war, which began in early October 1999, was from the outset colored in the green of Islam. It was immediately preceded by the jihad of radical Muslims in the Dagestani mountains in August-September of the same year. Although in the early years... MORE
Russia No Longer Controls the Situation in Dagestan
The events taking place in the largest North Caucasian republic raise serious questions about the degree of control that the local authorities—and primarily the law enforcement agencies led by Dagestani Interior Minister General Lieutenant Adilgirei Magomedtagirov—have over the situation on the ground. Early on March... MORE
Strasbourg Court Again Rules Against Russia in Chechen Case
The European Court of Human Rights ruled on March 12 that Russia must pay damages to the families of 13 Chechens presumed dead after being abducted during armed raids in Chechnya between 2001 and 2003, the Associated Press (AP) reported. The Strasbourg-based court said Russia... MORE
Yevkurov Acknowledges Difficult Security Situation, Offers Amnesty
Ingush President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov has acknowledged that rebel attacks, which have claimed the lives of 18 members of the security forces in Ingushetia this year alone, are the republic’s most serious problem. “The biggest problem we are facing is the problem of criminals who carry... MORE
Kadyrov Youth Group Makes Appearance in Chechnya
Kavkazky Uzel reported on March 11 that a group it described as “Yunykh Kadyrovtsy”—the Young Kadyrovites—has appeared in Chechnya’s grammar schools. According to the website, Chechen television on March 10 showed an entire class in a school in the village of Novogrozny joining the group... MORE
Wartime Approaching in the Caucasus
It is early springtime and in the mountain passes separating Georgia from Russia, there is snowfall one day and wet snow or rain the next. Avalanches and mudslides caused by wet snow regularly close down the only road connecting Russia and the breakaway region of... MORE
Dokka Umarov Suffers Setback in Turkey
When Chechen refugees leave Russia to settle in foreign countries, they are mainly concerned with the physical safety of their family members. However, over the years, members of the Chechen Diaspora have become increasingly convinced that their status as political refugees has not given them... MORE
Briefs
Insurgent Violence in Dagestan Shows No Signs of Letting UpA suspected member of an “illegal armed group” was killed in Dagestan’s Sergo-Kala district on March 4, Interfax reported. Dagestan’s Interior Ministry identified the dead militant as Magomedshakir Magomedov, a resident of Dagestan’s Kayakent district who... MORE
Kadyrov Again Invited Zakaev to Return to Chechnya
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has yet again called on Akhmed Zakaev, the London-based prime minister of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI), to return home. Interfax on March 3 quoted Kadyrov as telling reporters that Zakaev no longer represents anyone in London and that... MORE