Latest Articles about The Caucasus
Militants and Police Official Killed in Dagestan as Ethnic Tensions Rise
Three militants were killed by security forces during a special operation in the village of Leninkent near Dagestan’s capital Makhachkala on February 5. Itar-Tass quoted Dagestani Deputy Interior Minister Magomed Gazimagomedov as identifying the three slain militants as Arslan Aldaev, Makhach Magomedov and Gadzhimurad Kamalutdinov—the... MORE
Kadyrov’s Spokesman Defends Zakaev
On January 29, the spokesman for the Chechen president and government, Lema Gudaev, responded to press reports quoting the Federal Security Service (FSB) as accusing Akhmed Zakaev, the London-based prime minister of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI), of setting up his own armed... MORE
Kadyrov Calls Budanov a “Schizophrenic” and “Murderer”
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov on January 30 denounced Yuri Budanov, the former Russian army colonel and tank commander who was recently released from prison after serving eight years of a 10-year sentence for the murder of Elza Kungaeva, an 18-year-old Chechen woman. In an interview... MORE
New York Times Provides Fresh Details of Accusations against Kadyrov
The New York Times on February 1 provided fresh details about the accusations made against Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov by Umar Israilov, the ex-rebel fighter that became Kadyrov's bodyguard who was murdered in Vienna on January 13 (North Caucasus Weekly, January 15, 23 and 30).... MORE
How Much Longer Can Azerbaijan Wait For Nabucco to Materialize?
"It's a good question, how long we are going to wait," Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev warned with regard to the Nabucco gas transport project during the World Economic Forum just held in Davos. As a potential large-scale producer with proven reserves of 2 trillion cubic... MORE
Yerevan Again Avoids Council of Europe Sanctions
In a major boost to the administration of President Serzh Sarkisian, the Council of Europe has once again refrained from punishing Armenia for a government crackdown on the opposition sparked by the disputed presidential election of February 2008. The Strasbourg-based organization's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) has... MORE
Ingushetia’s New President Faces an Uphill Battle
The appointment of Yunus-bek Yevkurov, the career military intelligence officer with experience in the Kosovo (1999) and Chechnya (2000) wars, as the president of Ingushetia, the smallest North Caucasian republic, in late October 2008 was perceived by its people as opening up the possibility of... MORE
Chechnya Starts the New Year on a Tense Note
After numerous statements by various ministers in Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov’s government regarding the victories that they scored in 2008 in Chechnya (https://www.grozny-inform.ru/), 2009 began with unpleasant news streaming in from outside the republic for Chechen authorities. The Russian justice system released from prison a... MORE
The War on Dagestan’s Police Continues
The Regnum News Agency on January 28 quoted Russia’s Interior Ministry as reporting that an arms cache containing several grenades for grenade launchers, eight hand grenades, more than a thousand cartridges of various calibers and food and medicine was discovered in the village of Endreyaul... MORE
Medvedev and Yevkurov Meet Again, This Time in Moscow
President Dmitry Medvedev met with Ingushetia’s President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov in the Kremlin on January 28, a follow-up to the meeting they had in Magas on January 20 during the Russian president’s trip to Ingushetia (North Caucasus Weekly, January 23). Kavkazky Uzel reported that in the... MORE