![](/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/region-caucasus_01.jpg)
Latest Articles about The Caucasus
![](/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Ministry-of-Finance-640x346.jpg)
Economic Issues and Political Grievances May Revive Russia’s Ethnic Fault Lines in the North Caucasus
According to a report by a Russian credit rating agency affiliated with RBK media holding, 62 of Russia’s 83 regions (this total excludes the illegally annexed Crimea and Sevastopol, which Moscow considers its 84th and 85th federal subjects) are likely to deplete their financial reserves... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Anaklia-deep-water-port-construction-640x360.jpg)
Russia’s Discreet Satisfaction Over Georgia’s Anaklia Port Debacle
Since the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991, a perpetual high priority for the Russian Federation has been to maintain or extend Moscow’s influence over the other former Soviet republics as far as possible, particularly in the military sphere. This... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Aleksei-Yerkhov-640x346.jpg)
Circassians Demand Resignation of Russian Ambassador to Turkey
The Coordinating Council of Circassian civil society organizations of Kabardino-Balkaria appealed to the head of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, to recall the ambassador to Turkey, Aleksei Yerkhov. In a recent interview with the Abkhazian service of Sputnik News, the Russian envoy... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Vano-Merabishvili-640x342.jpg)
Vano Merabishvili’s Release From Prison: A Chance or Challenge for the Georgian Opposition?
On February 20, former interior minister (2004–2012) and former prime minister (2012) Vano Merabishvili was released from prison in Tbilisi, where he spent six years and nine months in solitary confinement (Interpressnews February 20). Merabishvili—widely known as the “Georgian strongman” during his time in government... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Aliyev-in-Rome-640x360.jpg)
Azerbaijan and Italy Boost Cooperation in Multiple Domains
On February 19–22, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev paid a historic state visit to Rome, Italy (Azertag, February 19). Before this latest trip, the Azerbaijani leader had made three official and two working visits to Italy, but a state visit (the highest-level visit possible in inter-state... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Caspian-cargo-shipping-EDM-March-3-2020.jpg)
Kalmyk Port and Canal Threaten to Upend Power Relations in North Caucasus
The southwestern Russian Republic of Kalmykia has long hoped to become a major player on the Caspian, which it argues could be achievable with the construction of a new port on that inland sea along with a new canal from there to the Sea of... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Novolak-District-Commemoration-of-1944-Chechen-deportations-EDM-February-27-2020.jpg)
Dagestani Chechens Ready to Stage Protests to Reclaim Historical Lands in Republic
An estimated 10,000 people participated in a rally in the Novolak district of Dagestan on February 23, to commemorate the victims of Stalinist-era repressions and mark the 76th anniversary of the forced deportation of Chechens and Ingush during World War II. Chechen activists at the... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Giorgi-Gakharia-EDM-February-24-2020.jpg)
Impact of Western Support and Reprimand on Georgian Politics
On February 10, the authorities jailed Giorgi “Gigi” Ugulava, the secretary general of the opposition party European Georgia (EG), on charges of allegedly embezzling some $17 million while serving as mayor of Tbilisi (2005–2013). Ugulava’s arrest undermined the planned next round of Western-mediated talks between... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Kendelen-clashes-2018-EDM-February-21-2020-640x360.jpg)
Some Turkic Balkars Want Their Own Republic in the North Caucasus
A group of people unexpectedly disrupted a large assembly of Balkar activists in Nalchik, the capital of the Northwest Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkaria. On February 2, dozens of youths stormed a hall where the congress of the Council of Elders of the Balkar People (CEBP)... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/PashtovoaDOTcom-640x360.jpg)
Its Caspian Sea Trade Cut by US Sanctions, Iran Turns to Railways—and Moscow Helps
The United States’ sanctions against Iran and the unwillingness of most Caspian littoral states to challenge them have sent Tehran’s maritime trade in this sea plummeting over the last two years, reducing its non-petroleum component by half (Financial Tribune, May 27, 2019). But that has... MORE