RFE/RL Caucasus Report
31.08.2012
A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about the countries of the South Caucasus and Russia's North Caucasus region.
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Int'l Row Erupts Over Azerbaijan Pardon
The quick pardon by Azerbaijan's president of the repatriated killer of an Armenian army officer has sparked a diplomatic maelstrom involving arch foe Armenia and European Union and NATO member Hungary. More Officials in Azerbaijan say at least six people have been killed in the collision of a passenger bus with a train in a suburb of the capital, Baku. More 
Saakashvili Vows To Maintain Stability
As details emerged of a hostage taking in eastern Georgia, President Mikheil Saakashvili pledges to stop any attempt from neighboring countries to destabilize Georgia. More 
Assassination Of Daghestan's Sufi Spiritual Leader Raises Specter Of New Violence
The death of Daghestan's Sufi spiritual leader, Said Efendi Chirkeisky, in a suicide bombing threatens to add new fuel to the cycle of violence in the North Caucasus republic. More 
'Militant's Wife' Killed Daghestan Cleric
Officials in Russia's volatile North Caucasus republic of Daghestan say a militant's wife carried out the suicide bombing that killed Muslim Sufi cleric Said Efandi Chirkeisky and six other people, including a 12-year-old boy. More Since losing his sight from a battlefield injury, Ilham Zekiyev has become a world-class judo fighter, or judoka, winning European and world championships and two Paralympic gold medals. He's fighting for more gold at the current games in London. (RFE/RL’s Azerbaijan’s Service) More
Daghestan Suicide Bomber Kills Venerated Sufi Spiritual Leader
The killing on August 28 by a woman suicide bomber at his home of Said Efandi Chirkeisky will almost certainly take the spiraling violence and anarchy in Daghestan to a new level. More 
Agreement On Georgian Election Code Remains Elusive
For the past five weeks, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s United National Movement (ENM) has sought to induce the maximum number of political parties, in particular its main opposition rival, the Georgian Dream bloc headed by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, to sign up to a four-point code of conduct. More 
Woman Says Ingush Suicide Bomber Was Not Her Son
The website Chechenews has posted a statement in which the mother of the man identified as having killed seven police officers at a funeral in the Ingushetian village of Sagopshi one week ago says the suicide bomber was not her son. More 
Umarov Names New Commander Of Insurgency In Daghestan
Six months after the death of Ibragimkhalil Daudov (Amir Salikh), self-styled Caucasus Emirate head Doku Umarov has issued a formal decree naming Daudov’s first deputy, Rustam Asildarov (Amir Abu Mukhammad), to succeed him as head of the Daghestan wing of the North Caucasus insurgency. More 
Not So Fearsome: Grozny Tops Poll As Russia's Happiest City
It might seem strange for a city that was only recently the epicenter of two detrimental and demoralizing wars, but a new survey by the NewsEffector website indicates that Grozny is now Russia's "happiest" city. More |
