In Dagestan, the imam of the village of Kadar in the republic’s Buinaksk district was shot to death yesterday (September 15). The attack on Zainudin Daiziev took place around 10:20 p.m., local time, when two unidentified attackers shot him in his home of in the... MORE

Emboldened by international tolerance of its seizure of Moldovan territory in 1992 (see Part One in  EDM, September 15), but still unable to muster support on the state level within the CIS, Russia experimented with “collective” peacekeeping at the sub-state level against Georgia in South... MORE

Numerous official websites from the past six months—in Beijing, Qingdao, Shandong, and Jiangsu among others—mention the 610 Office, an entity engaged in efforts to “carry out comprehensive investigations,” strengthen “transformation,” and prevent unwanted incidents (Pingyin.gov.cn, September 5; Jsrm.gov.cn, August 15; Laoshan.gov.cn, April 2011). A June... MORE

With the summer winding down along with the tensions in the South China Sea, China engaged the principle disputants of this round of regional tensions. China hosted Philippine President Benigno Aquino III for a five-day state visit beginning August 30. In Beijing, Chinese and Vietnamese... MORE

At least 1,500 Tuareg fighters joined Muammar Qaddafi’s loyalist forces (though some sources cite much larger figures) in the failed defense of his Libyan regime. Many were ex-rebels residing in Libya, while others were recruited from across the Sahel with promises of large bonuses and... MORE

Militants in Ingushetia have not been very active over the past year that is until quite recently. The break in insurgent activity was associated with the arrest of one of the most well-known field commanders of the North Caucasian underground movement-Emir Magas (aka Akhmed Yevloev-Taziev).... MORE

This week Army-General Nikolai Makarov, the Chief of the Russian General Staff told journalists in Moscow that the beginning of the Tsentr 2011 military exercises with Russian and Central Asian allies Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will be a test of the ability of the Collective... MORE

Russia’s presidential think-tank, INSOR, has drafted a blueprint for using the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) as a multinational cover on Russia-led stability operations. Moscow envisions such contingencies in the CSTO’s claimed “area of responsibility” (Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan) and potentially beyond (see... MORE

On September 12, the Kavkazsky Uzel (Caucasian Knot) website reported there had been a large-scale displacement of ethnic Dagestanis from the Stavropol region. A local court in the region’s Andropovsky district annulled the registration of at least 21 Dagestanis. The loss of registration makes these... MORE

CSTO’s Secretary-General, Nikolai Bordyuzha, has expatiated on proposals to use the Collective Security Treaty Organization as a tool of Russian intervention within member countries. His latest statements focus on managing hypothetical internal upheavals in member countries (Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan) via the Russian-led... MORE