Latest Articles about The Caucasus
Government Authorities Fail to Provide Security in the North Caucasus
On May 9, several explosions and a suicide attack attempt took place in Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria and Chechnya (www.kavkaz-uzel.ru, May 9). The situation could be called almost normal for the region, which has been plagued by violence in previous years, but with one slight difference. Following... MORE
Parliamentary Race Looms in Azerbaijan
On May 6, the official date for the next parliamentary elections was announced in Azerbaijan. According to the spokesman of the central election commission, Azer Sariyev, the next elections for the legislative body of the country will be held on November 7 (Trend News Agency,... MORE
Moscow Grooming a Political Team in Tbilisi
Each spring from 2007 to date, Georgia’s radical opposition has linked its regime-change campaigns with a powerful patron, in the hope of counterbalancing the state authorities. Initially that patron was an internal one the tycoon, Badri Patarkatsishvili, whose resources rivaled those of the state until... MORE
Georgian Radical Opposition Launches Seasonal Offensive
Georgia’s extra-parliamentary opposition has launched its annual spring offensive in the streets, for regime change outside the constitutional framework. This campaign has become an annual occurrence since the spring of 2007, regardless of economic cycles or the government’s economic performance, which is highly rated internationally... MORE
Chechen Officials Press Moscow to Assist with Demining as Blasts Still Claim Lives
On May 6, the Kavkazsky Uzel (Caucasian Knot) website reported that the Chechen parliament resolved to address Moscow with a request to assist with clearing minefields in the republic. An estimated 24,000 hectares (59,000 acres) of land in Chechnya remain littered with landmines years after... MORE
Yarmuk Jammat Regroups after Death of Astemirov in Sign of new Militant Strategy
Nalchik, the capital city of Kabardino-Balkaria in Russia’s North Caucasus, has been hit be a series of bombings. Explosives were detonated on May 1, during May Day festivities at the local hippodrome as the spectators, including members of the republican government, were about to view... MORE
Chechen Leader Says he Does Not Repress Religion and Press Freedom, or Kill his Opponents
Chechen President, Ramzan Kadyrov, on May 5 slammed a report by a US government commission on infringements of religious freedom worldwide in which he came in for particularly harsh criticism. Earlier this month, Kadyrov was listed a “predator” of press freedom, and last month the... MORE
Nalchik Bomb Attack Endangers the Stability of Kabardino-Balkaria
On May 1, an explosion shook Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria. A home-made explosive device estimated at equaling 3-5 kilograms of TNT went off at the time as current and former republican top officials were entering a tribune set aside for them at the Nalchik... MORE
The US and Azerbaijan: Unraveling a Strategic Partnership?
The hitherto strong relations between the US and Azerbaijan have hit a low point following the US-facilitated signing of the Armenian-Turkish protocols on October 10, 2009. If ratified, the protocols would lead to establishing diplomatic ties between Turkey and Armenia and re-opening their joint border... MORE
The Circassian Question is Driving Change in the Northwest Caucasus
On April 28, the President of Karachaevo-Cherkessia, Boris Ebzeyev, accepted the resignation of the republican government. The main reason for the government’s replacement was the ethnic imbalance of power, as Moscow’s envoy to the region Aleksandr Khloponin has demanded that an ethnic Circassian be appointed... MORE