Latest Articles about The Caucasus

Georgia Prepares to Repel Russian Aggression

The Georgian army, defeated in the five-day war with Russia, is recovering and preparing to ward off potential Russian aggression. "Our defenses should be ready to repel potential Russian aggression. All the military programs and priorities for 2009 will be developed based on the experience... MORE

The Changing Landscape of Islam in North Ossetia

One of the militants who participated in the September 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis—Vladimir Khodov—was a resident of the North Ossetian village of Elkhotovo. He was an ethnic Russian who converted to Islam and later worked as a cook in the detachment of Chechen militants... MORE

Chechen Rebel Representative Reportedly Switches Sides

The press office of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov reported on February 16 that Bukhari Baraev, brother of the notorious Chechen rebel field commander Arbi Baraev, who was killed in 2001, and father of Movsar Baraev, who led the militants that seized hostages at Moscow’s Dubrovka... MORE

Dagestan’s Sharia Jamaat Suffers Series of Setbacks

Events in the Republic of Dagestan—one of the most unstable republics in the North Caucasus region—are again demanding attention. This time, however, what is noteworthy are not the usual reports of daily armed clashes, but the news propagated by the Russian mass media concerning the... MORE

Briefs

Chechen Prosecutors Reopen Investigation of Budanov for KidnappingThe Chechen Investigation Department under the Investigative Committee of the federal Prosecutor General’s Office reopened a probe into alleged kidnappings by Yuri Budanov, the Russian army colonel and tank commander jailed in 2000 for the murder of an... MORE

Ingush President Accuses U.S. of Seeking to “Undermine the Caucasus”

In an interview published February 9 in the bi-weekly Novaya Gazeta, Ingushetia’s President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov accused  U.S. and British intelligence of attempting to “destroy Russia” by sending terrorists to “Russia’s south.” In another interview published on February 9, with the weekly magazine Kommersant-Vlast, Yevkurov charged... MORE