A survey in Dagestan has found that 20 percent of the republic’s youth consider themselves moderate Salafis. Only 10 percent of the respondents referred to themselves as Sufis – traditionally the main Muslim branch in Dagestan. The most educated among those who identified themselves as... MORE

The Saturday rally in Moscow gathered so many thousands and generated such a resonance that all concerned parties – the authorities, the participants and the abstainers – have to quickly figure out what it really means. Nobody had expected the protest against the crudely but... MORE

Prior to the parliamentary elections to the Russian State’s Duma on December 4, few observers expressed their doubt over Putin’s prospects of comfortably ascending to the presidential position in March 2012. This situation drastically changed as the protest action against allegedly rigged parliamentary vote garnered... MORE

On December 2, the Circassian Congress organization of Karachaevo-Cherkessia appealed to President Dmitry Medvedev to create the conditions “for unimpeded repatriation” of the Circassian diaspora in Syria to Russia and the North Caucasus. The chairman of the Circassian Congress, Kase Kika, claimed there are tens... MORE

In the 1980s the Saudi Arabia-United States alliance supported the mujahedeen in Afghanistan in their battle against the Soviet Union. Hostility has since grown between al-Qaeda, which formed later and the Saudi regime. Hostilities started after the 1991 Gulf War when the Islamic opposition became... MORE

Following the recent presidential election, Kyrgyzstan’s parliament is set to form a new ruling coalition. This will be yet another test as to whether the country’s political forces can find a balance between the competing interests among the five political parties represented in the parliament.... MORE

Corruption and corporate raiding are growing at an alarming rate in Ukraine since Viktor Yanukovych came to power. The country dropped 18 places this year in Transparency International’s annual rankings, now standing below Russia and Azerbaijan (both 143) and in 152nd place alongside Congo, the... MORE

It is common practice to summarize the year’s events at its conclusion. Following this tradition, we can consider the figures concerning the situation in the North Caucasus, which is not improving, as the federal authorities in the Russian Federation would like to present it. The... MORE

Dagestan’s Interior Ministry reported today (December 9) that a cache of weapons was discovered in Karabudakhentsky district on the Caspian Sea coast. According to the ministry, police found a bag containing four F-1 hand grenades, five RGD-5 grenades, an RPG-18 grenade launcher, a GP-25 under-barrel... MORE

A total of eight political parties have registered for the upcoming parliamentary election in Kazakhstan on January 15, yet the outcome is already fairly clear. President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s party, Nur Otan, currently the only political party represented in parliament, is expected to win by a... MORE