Latest Articles about The Caucasus
SECURITY OFFICIALS KIDNAP ALLEGED “WAHHABIS” IN DAGESTAN
Two recent conferences provide markedly different views on the situation in Dagestan. While the local government blames Islamic fundamentalism, human rights activists decry human rights violations. While Makhachkala’s leaders preach religious tolerance, law-enforcement officials carry out kidnappings, torture, and executions. On June 6 the government... MORE
SOUTH OSSETIAN LEADER CHOOSES EUROPE
Dmitry Sanakoyev, leader of the Tbilisi-backed provisional administrative unit in South Ossetia, visited Brussels on June 24-26 for informal introductory talks with representatives of European institutions, diplomatic missions, and think tanks and a speech in the European Parliament. Invited to Brussels by the European Union-Georgia... MORE
U.S.-BORN POLITICIAN RESHAPES ARMENIAN OPPOSITION CAMP
The May 12 parliamentary elections in Armenia, swept by political allies of President Robert Kocharian and Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian, were a massive blow to the country’s fragmented opposition. Most of its top leaders, including the two men who had nearly unseated Kocharian in the... MORE
RIVAL CASPIAN CANAL PROJECTS COMPETE FOR INVESTORS
Azerbaijan, one of the rising Caspian energy exporters, has dismissed a Russian proposition to renovate the Volga-Don Canal (Itar-Tass, June 19). Baku apparently favors a Kazakh proposal for a “Eurasia Canal,” calling Russia’s plans a simple upgrade of the existing canal. Speaking in Rostov-on-Don on... MORE
PUTIN’S GABALA OFFER GETS MIXED REACTION IN AZERBAIJAN
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to jointly use the Gabala radar station with the United States caused debates and split opinions in Azerbaijan. Putin made the offer on the sidelines of the June 6-8 G-8 summit in Germany. The Gabala station is the only Russian... MORE
POLICE BARRACKS ATTACKED IN INGUSHETIA
At midnight on Tuesday, June 19, a group of militants attacked a police special-task force facility in Karabulak, Ingushetia. The garrison actually had members of two special-task police units inside: an Ingush one, and another consisting of assorted Russian officers sent to the republic from... MORE
GUAM AT TEN
Heads of state and governments of Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova -- the GUAM group of countries -- met June 18-19 in Baku, together with the presidents of Romania, Poland, and Lithuania. The meeting marks the tenth year of GUAM’s existence. The anniversary summit was... MORE
SUMMIT TAKES STOCK OF GUAM’S PROJECTS, INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
On June 18-19 in Baku, the GUAM countries’ annual summit reviewed the state of implementation of the group’s policies, projects, and institutional development. Presidents Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine, Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, and Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev (substituting for President... MORE
RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES TRY TO PREVENT REBEL ATTACKS IN DAGESTAN
Security concerns in the North Caucasus traditionally peak in the summer. Warm weather and green leaves on trees help the Caucasian rebels intensify their attacks on Russian army units and local police forces. Every summer and fall Russian security officials try to guess where the... MORE
ARMENIAN PM FORMS NEW CABINET AFTER ELECTION TRIUMPH
Armenia’s President Robert Kocharian and his top political allies have cut a new power-sharing deal resulting from their landslide victory in the May 12 parliamentary elections. In a decree made public on June 8, Kocharian formally approved the composition of a coalition government headed by... MORE