North Caucasus
Moscow nervous about Cirassians identifying themselves as Circassians in upcoming census
August 25, 2010By Paul Goble If Circassians identify themselves as such, as many activists are urging, and not as the separate nationalities the Soviets divided them into, according to Russian experts cited in an article in today’s “Rossiiskaya gazeta,...
Moscow grows weary over Kadyrov’s excessive independence
August 04, 2010By Valery Dzutsev On July 30, the primary news outlet of the Chechen militants, Kavkaz Center, citing its own sources, reported Moscow was preparing a drastic shift in its policies in the North Caucasus. According to the website, the main points of Moscow...
Moscow analysts disagree on where Russian anger about the North Caucasus is heading
July 28, 2010by Paul Goble The latest wave of violence in the North Caucasus and especially by people from that region in Moscow and other Russian cities is leading ever more Russians to revise what they think Moscow should do in response, according to Russian analysts...
Return of realpolitik portends horrors for North Caucasus
July 21, 2010by Paul Goble The root of the problems in the North Caucasus, Sergey Kovalyev argues, is the result of a broader shift in the paradigms governing politics today away from a commitment to universal human values to a Machiavellian Realpolitik that threatens...
Can Russia and the west begin serious discussions on the North Caucasus?
July 01, 2010by Paul Goble Russia’s support for a Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe resolution on human rights in the North Caucasus last week, the first time Moscow has voted for such a measure in 14 years, suggests that Russia and the West may...
Human rights activists in the North Caucasus continue to be harassed and attacked
June 21, 2010by Valery Dzutsev The rapporteur on the human rights situation in the North Caucasus for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Dick Marty, is expected to deliver his report titled “Legal remedies for human rights violations...
The life and times of Emir Magas: Ingushetia’s most wanted
June 20, 2010by Mairbek Vachagaev Moscow’s biggest victory over the North Caucasus rebels since fall 2000 The Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation announced that on June 9, the leader of the Ingush Jamaat, Emir Magas (aka, Ahmed Yevloev...
Unity of Russia’s muslims must come from below
June 17, 2010by Paul Goble Frustrated by the often unseemly struggles of the leaders of Russia’s Muslim Spiritual Directorates (MSDs) and convinced that both Russia and Russia’s Muslims would benefit from the formation of a united Islamic organization...
June 15, 2010by Paul Goble With the capture of Magas last week, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has sent a clear signal that he wants to change Moscow’s approach against North Caucasus militants, capturing and condemning them in Russian courts rather than...
The capture of magas may prove to be more of a challenge than a triumph for the Kremlin
June 15, 2010by Valery Dzutsev On June 9, Russian news agencies broke the news about the capture in Malgobek, Ingushetia, of the military commander of the Caucasus Emirate, nicknamed Emir Magas (RIA Novosti, June 9). Such a high-ranking leader of the North Caucasus...