Week in the Caucasus: review of main events on October 21-27

Terror act committed by female suicide bomber in Volgograd and a special operation to search for militants in Makhachkala; presidential election in Georgia; formation of new government of Azerbaijan, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of October 21-27, 2013, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

Terror act committed by female suicide bomber in Volgograd and a special operation to search for militants in Makhachkala

On October 21, in the afternoon, an explosion inside a public bus was triggered in the Krasnoarmeisky District of Volgograd. According to power agents, it was committed by Naida Asiyalova, 30, a native of Dagestan, who at the moment of explosion was in a hijab. The explosion killed seven people, including the alleged bomber, 55 people were injured, including 20 children. On suspicion of involvement in the explosion, Asiyalova's Sharia husband – Dmitry Sokolov, 21, was put on the wanted list. According to investigators, Asiyalova had planned the terror act together with him and two more natives of Dagestan – the members of the "Makhachkala" militants' grouping.

After the terror act, two attempts to set fire to worship houses of the Muslim community were registered in the city; and an unauthorized rally was prevented. In Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, power agents are visiting house by house in search of persons linked with militants within the counterterrorist operation (CTO). Local residents have reported detention of several people, including young women wearing hijabs.

Georgia holds presidential election

On October 27, Georgia voted for its new president out of 23 registered candidates. In total, the country opened 3689 polling stations, and 50 more stations were opened abroad. Well at the start of the election campaign, Georgian political analysts supposed that the main battle will be among three candidates – Georgy Margvelashvily, the former Minister of Education and Sciences, nominated by the ruling coalition "Georgian Dream"; the former Speaker of the Parliament David Bakradze, a candidate from the pro-presidential "United National Movement" (UNM); and the ex-Parliament Speaker Nino Burjanadze, the leader of the "Democratic Movement-United Georgia". On the eve of the voting, the three leaders remained the same – after processing of 75.38% of ballots, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC), Margvelashvily has 62.18%, Bakradze – 21.84%, and Burjanadze – 10.07% of the votes.

As stated by Shalva Natelashvili, one of the candidates and the leader of the Labour Party, the election of the President of Georgia has been falsified as a result of a fraudulent deal of the "Georgian Dream" with the UNM. The fact that the election was rigged, and the result was falsified, was also stated by Irakli Batiashvili, the head of election staff of Nino Burjanadze. According to the staff, over a thousand violations were recorded.

Azerbaijan: formation of new government and elimination of fire at Caspian Sea well

On October 22, the National Assembly of Azerbaijan re-approved Arthur Rasizade, 78, as Prime Minister. On the same day, President Ilham Aliev signed a decree on the new government. Most of the ministers retained their posts.

Independent experts and opposition politicians are sceptical to the new composition of the cabinet, saying that the preservation of the majority of previous ministers indicates the absence in the authorities of any aspirations for reforms and an attempt to strengthen their position.

On October 24, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan reported that the fire at the emergency borehole of the gas-condensate field "Bulla-Deniz" in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, which began on August 17 after gas spouting, was extinguished. Assistance in extinguishing the fire was rendered by the British BP and the US BOOTS & COOTS Companies.

North Ossetia: murder of Deputy Prosecutor in central Vladikavkaz

On October 23, in the centre of Vladikavkaz, Oleg Oziev, the deputy prosecutor of the Promyshlenny District of Vladikavkaz, was shot dead by unidentified persons. The gunman was waiting for Oziev near his home and made at least six shots from an automatic weapon at the moment, when Oziev got out of his car. The deputy prosecutor died on the spot from the received wounds. The investigation of the case is conducted by the Chief Investigating Department for the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF).