An explosion in the Dagestani city of Buinaksk today (March 23) killed the imam of the city’s central mosque, Gitinomagomed Abdulgapurov, and his bodyguard, Magomedrasul Magomedov. The blast occurred around 6:00 a.m., local time, as the two were walking down the street. The Rosbalt news... MORE

Opinion polls show that although the ruling Party of Regions (PRU) remains the most popular party, it may lose the parliamentary election scheduled for October 28 to the combined forces of the opposition. Economic growth has slowed considerably of late so the ruling party cannot... MORE

There has recently been a spate of news stories in Russia about the Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami organization (Party of Liberation). This organization is on the Russian Supreme Court’s official list of terrorist organizations and thus its activities in the country are banned (www.rg.ru/2006/07/28/terror-organizacii.html). An international... MORE

Of the two people – Dmitry Konovalov and Vladislav Kovalyov, both 25, who were found guilty of carrying out the bombing in Minsk subway on April 11, 2011, killing 15 people and injuring 206 – there seemed to be a chance for a presidential pardon... MORE

On March 18, Russia’s Interior Ministry officially confirmed a massive relocation of ministry troops from Chechnya to Dagestan. The official reason given for the movement of the troops was to “stabilize” the situation in Dagestan. A temporary command was set up in Dagestan to coordinate... MORE

The Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza (March 1) (https://wyborcza.pl/1,75248,11261360,Tajna_historia_przejmowania_Ukrainy_przez_Rosje.html) provided details of Russia’s growing grip over Ukraine’s security forces. According to Gazeta Wyborcza, then Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin only dropped his support for Yulia Tymoshenko in mid-2011. This came about as a consequence of two... MORE

On March 16, 2012, the Moldovan parliament elected Nicolae Timofti as state president, a post technically vacant since April 2009. Proposed by the governing Alliance for European Integration (AEI, comprised of three parties), Timofti garnered 62 votes, one more than minimally necessary in the 101-seat... MORE

On March 16, a Russian parliamentary delegation flew to Syria to examine the plight of Syria’s Circassians and their possible repatriation to the North Caucasus. The delegation included members of the Federation Council, the upper chamber of Russia’s parliament, and regional officials and activists from... MORE

There were few reasons to expect that Vladimir Putin would show a generosity of heart after the moving-to-tears but dubious victory in the presidential elections two weeks ago. Grounds for concern about possible repressions against the opposition – portrayed as “traitors” – appeared more serious,... MORE

The criminal trial of 37 persons charged with organizing and participating in the December riots in Zhanaozen and the village of Shetpe will start on March 27 in Aktau, the administrative center of Mangistau region in western Kazakhstan (KazTAG, March 14). The trial will be... MORE