North Caucasus federal district officials anticipate sweeping structural changes by the end of May after Vladimir Putin is inaugurated as the President of Russia. The incoming President’s administration is expected to increase its focus on the North Caucasus. Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported on April 23 that... MORE

A month ago, thousands of Salafis from various organizations demonstrated in downtown Tunis in support of the Qur‘an. Tens of individuals among them also brazenly climbed the famous clock tower and waved the black flag of Islam. Yet, among these Salafi organizations in Tunisia, there... MORE

The Russian federal agency for CIS affairs, compatriots and international humanitarian cooperation unveiled plans for holding a conference of compatriots in Beirut, Lebanon before the end of this May. The agency’s head, Konstantin Kosachyov, told members of the Russian Federation Council that the agency was... MORE

A police checkpoint in the Dagestani city of Khasavyurt came under fire early today (April 20). One policeman was slightly wounded in the attack. Police fired back at the gunman but he managed to escape in a car (riandagestan.ru, April 20).Yesterday (April 19), three suspected... MORE

On April 3, in a bloody incident in Nazran, five people were killed on their way home from their jobs at a brickyard (www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/204389/). The incident illuminated the authorities’ incompetence and inadequate response to the processes occurring in the republic. Government agents surrounded the car... MORE

Security forces in Ingushetia launched a special operation today (April 13) in a portion of the republic’s Sunzha district where a group of militants was reportedly encircled. A group of around ten alleged militants were reportedly blockaded yesterday (April 12) in a wooded area near... MORE

The Republic of Azerbaijan is inarguably one of the fastest developing countries in the post-Soviet space. Large revenues from exports of oil and gas have obscured all of the problems of this Caucasian republic. As in all other republics of the Caucasus, there are also... MORE

President Hu Jintao joined 54 heads of state, deputy prime ministers and foreign ministers at the March 26-27 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul. The main objective of the summit was to secure, reduce and eliminate global stockpiles of nuclear and radiological materials to keep them... MORE

No one could have predicted a scandal would erupt when, on April 3, the Russian National Anti-Terrorist Committee (NAK) reported that security forces had killed five rebels in Ingushetia’s main city, Nazran. The authorities acknowledged there was a woman among the slain rebels. According to... MORE

On April 6, the president of Dagestan, Magomedsalam Magomedov, met with Russian Deputy Interior Minister Sergei Gerasimov in Makhachkala. The chief police official of the North Caucasus Federal District, Sergei Chenchik, and the chief of the Russian Interior Ministry’s police aviation and special units, Vladimir... MORE