 RFE/RL Caucasus Report 12/11/2009 8:36:19 PM A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about the countries of the South Caucasus and Russia's North Caucasus region.For more stories on the Caucasus, please visit and bookmark our Caucasus page . |
 The Abkhaz Vote, But Moscow Still Rules It's election season in Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia region as voters go to the polls for the first time since last summer's war in the Caucasus and Russia's move to recognize Abkhaz independence. Incumbent leader Sergei Bagapsh is favored to win a second term as de facto president. But Abkhazia's true rulers are in Moscow. More  Russia, Georgia Move To Restore Transport Links President Mikheil Saakashvili has accepted the offer by his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev to open the Verkhny Lars/Zemo Larsi border crossing between the two countries and to restore direct flights. More  Appeal to Release Azerbaijani Bloggers An appeal to release two jailed Azerbaijani bloggers was among letters written at an Amnesty International event in Prague for human rights day, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports. More  Website Owner's Slayer Gets 2-Year Sentence A court in the North Caucasian republic of Ingushetia has sentenced a policeman to two years in jail for the killing of opposition website owner Magomed Yevloyev, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Kyrgyz, Chechen NGOs Receive French Award The Kyrgyz nongovernmental organization Citizens Against Corruption is one of the winners of the French Liberty, Equality, and Brotherhood Award for 2009, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  Slain Ingushetian Activist Given U.S. Human Rights Award The U.S. State Department's annual Human Rights Defenders Award has been given posthumously to Ingushetian human rights activist Maksharip Aushev. More  What Is Tbilisi Getting For Its 1,000 Afghan Troops? With nearly 1,000 troops committed, what is the tiny South Caucasus country getting in return? More  Abkhazia Polarized On Eve Of Presidential Ballot A journalist for "Der Spiegel" who visited Abkhazia this summer observed that "the Abkhazians are assembling a state with the same level of seriousness and the same irritating attention to detail with which amateur craftsmen build matchstick replicas of the Eiffel Tower." But perhaps inevitably, Abkhazia's first elections since the republic was formally recognized as an independent state by Russia last year are not proceeding in line with the rulebook for a fair and democratic ballot. More  Ingush Official Denies Being Fired Over Conflict A dismissed Ingushetian presidential administration official denies he was fired by President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov after challenging the Russian republic's prime minister, RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service reports. More  Detained Armenian Oppositionist Registered As By-Election Candidate A local election commission has registered Nikol Pashinian as a candidate in a January 10 by-election in Yerevan, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More  Georgian President Hails Controversial Election Law Amendments The Georgian parliament approved on December 4 in the first reading hotly disputed amendments to the election law seemingly intended to guarantee a first-round victory for the candidate backed by President Mikheil Saakashvili's United National Movement (ENM) in next year's election to the post of Tbilisi mayor. More  Another Circassian Activist Assaulted, Beaten In Nalchik More |
