Latest Articles about Domestic/Social

Amid Paranoia, Moscow Increasingly Cracks Down on Human Rights Groups
Since last March, Russian and international human rights organizations—including such prominent ones as Memorial, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Transparency International and others—have been harassed by Russian law enforcement and tax authorities, had their premises searched all over Russia, and had documents and computer disks... MORE

The Party of President Saakashvili Is Determined to Demonstrate Its Power
On April 19, the United National Movement is set to stage a rally in the central part of Tbilisi (https://www.messenger.com.ge/issues/2833_april_4_2013/2833_edit.html). City officials have issued permission to hold the rally by the former parliament building on Rustaveli Boulevard. This spot around the building, which was built... MORE

Public Campaign Heats Up for Redrawing of Internal Borders of North Caucasus
A public campaign in Stavropol region for its formal secession from the North Caucasus Federal District has stirred up major controversy. Moscow’s envoy to the North Caucasus Federal District, Aleksandr Khloponin, accused “instigators” from the Novaya Sila (New Power) party of meddling in the region.... MORE

Circassians Anticipate Russian Provocations before Sochi Games
A week ago (April 2), Georgian Defense Minister Irakly Alasania said he “does not exclude the possibility” that there will be terrorist acts in the run up to the Sochi Olympics, noting that Tbilisi is doing everything it can so that Moscow will not be... MORE

Toward a Historical Peace Between Turks and Kurds?
Since March 21, new year’s day or “Newroz” for Kurds and Central Asian nations, Turkey has been witnessing a historical transformation in its decades’ old Kurdish question. On this day, Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a terrorist organization that... MORE

First Ethnic Ossetian Refugees from Syria Arrive in North Ossetia
Since the beginning of this year, Syrian Ossetians have been arriving in North Ossetia. Six refugees arrived in the republic at the end of January, and 12 more followed in February. The Ossetians from Syria arrived in the North Caucasus at the invitation of the... MORE

Minsk Grows Tired of EU’s Double Standards
On March 25, Alena Kupchina, the Belarusian deputy minister of foreign affairs, met with Maira Moira, the European Union’s envoy to Belarus (https://www.mfa.gov.by/press/news_mfa/e9045fcd71ff4ac8.html). The increased frequency of such meetings is caused by the necessity to improve relations in advance of the September 2013 Eastern Partnership... MORE

Is Kremlin Moving to Replace Ingush Leader?
President Vladimir Putin recently signed into law legislation that allows Russian regions to choose their form of election for governor. They can now do it either through popular elections or through votes in their parliaments (www.kremlin.ru/acts/17786). Thus the new law permits regions to reject popular... MORE

Russian Human Rights Ombudsman Has Little Effect on the Situation in the North Caucasus
The annual report of the Russian human rights ombudsman, Vladimir Lukin, is interesting not so much for its conclusions as for the distrust it evokes among the country’s population. Ordinary Russian citizens have a skeptical attitude toward Lukin’s activities. The law enforcement agencies, in turn,... MORE

Georgian Dream Seizes Local Administrations from Elected UNM Incumbents
Six months into Georgia’s regime-change, “transfer of powers” and “co-habitation,” these processes are still far from “orderly.” The most (or best) that may be said is that they are peaceful, in the sense of being non-violent. However, former government officials are being threatened with repressions,... MORE