On November 2, President Viktor Yanukovych made a startling warning at an enlarged government meeting. He said “Law enforcement organs have told me there are purchases of weapons in preparation for a violent attack on the organs of the ruling bodies (of the state),” adding... MORE

Dagestani Interior Ministry personnel on November 17 discovered an F-1 hand grenade, a stick of dynamite and 100 rounds of 5.45 mm ammunition in a house in the capital Makhachkala. The ministry said the 32-year-old owner of the house had previously been involved in an... MORE

On November 3, Tajik authorities announced that they had completed the main diversion tunnel of the Rogun Dam project. This means that it is now technically possible to divert the Vakhsh River from the part of the valley in which they plan to place the... MORE

In a matter of only days Tajikistan has managed to aggravate its relationship with Russia to the lowest point to date. Last week, a Tajik court sentenced a Russian citizen, Vladimir Sadovnichy, to serve eight years and six months in prison for smuggling and illegally... MORE

After four years of operation, Russia has been forced to move their military base from Botlikh, Dagestan to Maikop, Adygea. The 33rd mountain infantry brigade will now permanently be stationed in the western part of the North Caucasus (www.yuga.ru/news/243183/). The brigade was located in the... MORE

Defense and security spending is skyrocketing in Russia. Paychecks for defense and interior ministry personnel will increase 2.5 to 3 times from January 2012, while Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Federal Protective Service (FSO) staff will receive a similar pay boost in January 2013.... MORE

On November 14, the Federal Security Service (FSB) introduced a counterterrorism operation regime in the forested mountainous parts of Kabardino-Balkaria’s Chegem and Baksan districts and in parts of the town of Baksan. However, the following events cast doubt on the regime’s usefulness. The regime was... MORE

Kazakhstan, once depicted as an island of stability invulnerable to the encroachments of Islamist extremists is no longer a safe place in turbulent Central Asia. Over the last seven months the Muslim-dominated country was shaken by a series of terrorist attacks in several cities in... MORE

The traditional meeting of the international Valdai club with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday lasted long into the night but still was an indubitable letdown. The privilege of raising direct questions with the real master of Russian politics was diluted by the awkward awareness... MORE

On November 5, a massive fistfight broke out between Ossetians and Ingush in the city of Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia, following a car accident. The violence involved relatives of the accident victims, residents of nearby villages and the North Ossetian police. According to the Ingush side,... MORE