
Latest Articles about The Caucasus
Georgian Opposition Declines To Take Advantage Of Ossetia Crisis
Commenting on the latest developments in and around the breakaway South Ossetia region before departing for London on July 12, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili made a remarkable statement. He said that certain forces in Russia want to duplicate the events of 1992, when opposition forces... MORE
Kvashnin’s Future Hangs In The Balance Ñagain
Russia has prepared a new combat regiment for deployment in Ingushetia. The regiment consists of 600 servicemen, who joined under a contract after completing their military training in the North Caucasus Internal Troops District. The 126th Regiment of the Interior Troops (MVD) has been specifically... MORE
Brinkmanship Increases Between Tbilisi And Tskhinvali, But How Will Moscow Respond?
Tbilisi and the leaders of South Ossetia nearly came to blows this week, as Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili continued his campaign to rein-in separatist republics. South Ossetian paramilitary groups had sealed off the main routes in and out of their capital, Tskhinvali, last month, but... MORE
Maskhadov Calls For Talks; Zyazikov Says He’s Game
In an interview published by two separatist websites on July 5-6, Chechen separatist president Aslan Maskhadov reiterated that he is ready for negotiations with the federal authorities, while claiming that his forces have the means to fight on for years, should the Kremlin choose to... MORE
Professionalizing The Russian Airborne Forces: Will It Help In Chechnya?
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), already with a powerful say in the shape and planning of counter-terrorist operations in Chechnya, has disclosed serious concerns about remarks made by Chechen rebel commander Shamil Basayev on Al-Jazeera television. The FSB believes that future militant attacks may... MORE
Saakashvili Appoints His Closest Confidants To Head Georgia’s Law-enforcement Agencies
"I'm leaving my political party and opt for political silence," declared the new chairman of the Georgian Supreme Court, Kote Kemularia, after his strong parliamentary confirmation on June 24 (Dilis Gazeti, June 25). Before becoming the third chairman of the Georgian Supreme Court in the... MORE
Nato Summit’s Uncertain Message To Black Sea-south Caucasus Region
NATO's summit in Istanbul on June 26-29 failed to outline a vision for eastward enlargement and stopped short of acknowledging the membership aspirations of the alliance's new neighbors in the Black Sea-South Caucasus region. For the first time since the 1997 Madrid summit, NATO at... MORE
Newspaper Doubts Ingushetia Raid Organizer Was Killed
Russian media on June 28 reported that Magomed Evloev, an ethnic Ingush whom federal authorities claim led the June 21-22 attacks in Ingushetia, was killed during a special operation in the village of Dalakovo, near Nazran. Ren TV on June 28 aired footage of what... MORE
Has Moscow Lost Control Of The North Caucasus?
As the Kremlin prepares to install its latest handpicked president in Chechnya, it faces the prospect of losing control over the North Caucasus entirely. Last week's brazen assault on law-enforcement agencies in Ingushetia caught local police and secret services off guard and revealed the incompetence... MORE
Observers Wonder How Ingushetia Gunmen Went Undetected
Russian authorities have revised upwards casualty figures from the June 21-22 attacks by insurgents in Ingushetia. The republic's President Murat Zyazikov told reporters in Ingushetia's capital Magas that 97 people, including 27 civilians, were killed and 105 people, including 38 civilians, were wounded in the... MORE