Latest Articles about The Caucasus
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 Interfax on March 3 quoted Kadyrov as telling reporters that Zakaev no longer represents anyone in London and that...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
Kadyrov Defends Honor Killings
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said last week that the bodies of seven young women with gunshots to the head were found dumped by roadsides in Chechnya late last year and early this year (North Caucasus Weekly, December 4, 2008 and February 6, 2009) had “loose... MORE
Kadyrov Faces Fresh Accusations of Ordering Hits Abroad
Kavkaz TV, the video arm of Kavkaz-Center, the radical Islamist Chechen rebel website, this past week posted a video clip in which a young Chechen man, Ruslan Khalidov, claimed that Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov employed him to kill Magomed Ocherhadji, a leader of the large... MORE
Six Policemen Killed in Ingushetia Bombing
Six policemen were killed and two injured in a bomb blast in Ingushetia on March 5. Russian news agencies, citing republican Interior Ministry sources, reported that the blast took place near the entrance to the village of Surkhakhi after law-enforcement officers discovered a roadside bomb... MORE
Turkey’s Stalling on Nabucco Hurts Europe, Azerbaijan, and Itself: Part Two
Ankara's stalling tactics in the negotiations on the Western-backed Nabucco project (see EDM, March 4) are partly inspired by the AKP government's vision of a strategic partnership with Russia. Turkish officials have from time to time mooted the inclusion of Gazprom in the Nabucco project.... MORE
Turkey’s Stalling on Nabucco Hurts Europe, Azerbaijan, and Itself: Part One
During the recent Nabucco summit in Budapest on January 26 and 27 (see EDM, January 29, 30), EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs underscored the importance of signing the intergovernmental agreement on the Nabucco project by the time of the European Union's summit, to be hosted... MORE
Armenian Opposition Backs Away from Further Confrontation with Government
Armenia has marked the first anniversary of its worst political violence ever amid signs of easing tension between its leadership and the main opposition forces. The top opposition leader, former President Levon Ter-Petrosian, has made it clear that he will no longer seek to topple... MORE
Wave of Unrest and Counter-Terrorist Operations Sweep the North Caucasus
Russia’s special services and police this past week resumed anti-terrorist operations against the members of the armed resistance movement across the North Caucasus. A steady stream of news has been pouring in from Dagestan that the law enforcement authorities there have been striking back against... MORE