Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of October 2-8

Appointment of new Dagestani leader; execution of a Rostov Cossack in Syria; special operation in Dagestan announced after attacks on policemen, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of October 2-8, 2017, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

New leader of Dagestan appointed

On October 3, the Russian President accepted the resignation of Dagestani leader Ramazan Abdulatipov and appointed Vladimir Vasiliev, the leader of the "Edinaya Rossiya" (United Russia) Party faction in the State Duma, the acting head of the republic. On October 5, Vladimir Vasiliev arrived in the republic and promised not to appoint officials under the principle of national quotas. On October 6, he resigned members of the government for Dagestan. Ramazan Abdulatipov urged Vladimir Vasiliev to avoid reforms in the team, and Makhachkala residents called on the new leader to focus on fighting corruption.

The fuss over the change of the Dagestani leader forced the federal authorities to hurry with the choice and find a temporary compromise figure remote from all the clans. However, Vladimir Vasiliev will not stay in the chair of the republic's leader after September 2018, believe the editors-in-chief of Dagestani mass media.

Alexei Navalny's supporters come to actions in his support

On October 7, actions in support of oppositionist Alexei Navalny were held in many Russian cities, including Astrakhan, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, Sochi, and Stavropol. In Volgograd, a picket sanctioned by the Mayoralty gathered 70 people, who demanded to register Alexei Navalny for the elections. About 50 people went for a walk around Astrakhan. They explained their choice of the protest format by the ban on holding rallies and pickets. Besides, three activists held solo pickets. In Rostov, about 200 people took part in the action in support of Alexei Navalny. One of the participants of the action was detained. In Krasnodar, about 200 supporters of Alexei Navalny came to the building of the regional administration and demanded a meeting with the Governor. The police detained 30 participants of the action after provocateurs started a fight in the crowd, reported activists. Most of detained people were released on the same day. In Stavropol, about 60 supporters of Alexei Navalny came to the picket. Before the start of the actions, the police detained a coordinator of the Alexei Navalny's office for several hours.

Rostov Cossack executed by militants in Syria

On October 3, the terrorist organization "Islamic State" (IS) banned in Russia published a video in which a man introduced himself as Roman Zabolotniy, a native of the Rostov Region, and reported that he and Grigory Tsurkanu, a native of the Moscow Region, were captured prisoners in Syria. On October 4, Anatoly Kotlyarov, a member of the Rostov Duma, reported about the execution of Roman Zabolotniy. According to Victor Vodolatsky, the former Ataman of the All-Great Don Cossack Army and a member of the State Duma, Roman Zabolotniy was executed after he had refused to become a militant. Roman Zabolotniy and Grigory Tsurkanu were contract fighters of the private military company "Wagner's PMC", and on September 28, they were captured after the retreat of the government troops of Syria, reported the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta". Roman Zabolotniy and Grigory Tsurkanu were not the only victims of the hostilities in Syria. According to a woman who knew the Cossack, on September 28, 12 coffins with dead bodies of fighters from the "Wagner's PMC" were delivered to the Rostov airport.

Four residents of Dagestan killed in a special operation, announced after attack on district police inspectors

On October 1, in the Babayurt and Kizilyurt Districts of Dagestan, the counterterrorist operation (CTO) legal regime was introduced after the murders of two policemen. On September 30, in the Kizlyar District, a body of a district police inspector was found with knife wounds, and on October 1, another district police inspector was shot dead in the Babayurt District. On October 2, law enforcers shot and killed two persons in the Babayurt District, who, according to the law enforcers' version, were involved in the murder of a deceased district police inspector. According to a source, the killed suspects were identified as Djumageldi Adjiniyazov and Kamal Ibragimov. On October 4, two other men were killed in the Babayurt District. According to the source, they were involved in the murder of the district police inspector in the Kizlyar District. Those two men Anvar Ismailov and Rasul Radjabov were kidnapped in Kizilyurt on October 3, reported the "Kavkaz.Realii" with reference to the men's relatives.

On October 3, IS militants claimed responsibility for the killings of both district police inspectors.

In North-Caucasian republics, military enlistment offices start recruiting conscripts

On October 1, Russia launched the autumn conscription campaign and started to recruit conscripts from the regions of Northern Caucasus. This autumn, 500 people will be selected out of more than 80,000 Chechen residents of conscription age, reported the Chechen military enlistment office. Kabardino-Balkaria will send 350 conscripts to the army, and that is 48 less than in the recent spring conscription. Dagestan plans to send about 1000 conscript to the army this autumn, but so far 770 recruits have been selected, reported Dagestani military commissioner Daitbeg Mustafaev.

A mass anti-corruption rally takes place in Baku

On October 7, in Baku, more than 1000 people came to an anti-corruption rally under the slogan "No Robbery!" organized by the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF). The rally was held in support of the demands voiced at the action of September 23, in particular, to carry out the investigation into money laundering from Azerbaijan. Participants of the rally demanded to investigate the facts of corruption, punish the guilty persons and release political prisoners. On the eve of the rally, more than 100 oppositionists were summoned to the police stations, where they were requested to refuse participation in the rally, and six of them were arrested.