Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of November 12-18, 2018

Information about bombing committed by a female suicide bomber in Grozny; failed subbotnik on Ingush lands handed over to Chechnya, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of November 12-18, 2018, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

Information about self-explosion of female suicide bomber in Grozny

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), on November 17, a woman committed a suicide bombing in the Staropromyslovsky District of Grozny. The incident occurred at a checkpoint. The female suicide bomber blew herself up after a warning shot, reported the law enforcement bodies. No law enforcers or civilians fell victim to the bombing. The media reported that suspected suicide bomber Karina Spiridonova was born in Adygea, studied at a school in the Chelyabinsk Region, and in 2016, she got married and moved to Dagestan. After the bombing, someone posted on the Internet photos of the Karina Spiridonova's passports and a suicide note. The "Caucasian Knot" cannot verify their authenticity.

The information about the female suicide bomber raised questions among users of social networks. They paid attention to her name, unusual for a native of Adygea. Many users noted that judging by photos in her passports, the young woman quitted wearing hijabs. Residents of Chechnya noted the illogical behaviour of the female suicide bomber: it would have been easier for her to reach her destination by car, without attracting attention, and not walk to the place.

According to the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot", before the bombing committed on November 17, there were other two terror acts in Chechnya in 2018.

Disputes about date of voting in second round of presidential election in Georgia

On November 14, the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia scheduled for November 28 the voting in the second round of the presidential election to involve independent candidate Salome Zurabishvili, supported by the ruling "Georgian Dream" Party, and Grigol Vashadze, a candidate of the "United National Movement" (UNM) Party. The opposition appealed to the court concerning the date of the voting. The day of November 28 will be on Wednesday, but in Georgia, the election day is a day off, even if voting is scheduled for weekdays, explains the chair of the Georgian CEC. She has explained the date by the fact that the law requires the second round to be held exactly two weeks after the first one is summed up. It was possible to sum up the results of the first round on another day, and the appointment of the election to a weekday will not allow people who live abroad to take part in the voting, note Georgian NGOs. The Georgian CEC did it in the interests of the ruling party, claimed the office of Grigol Vashadze.

On November 18, the Tbilisi court did not grant a lawsuit filed by the UNM Party and also dismissed a lawsuit filed by NGOs "International Transparency-Georgia" and "International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy", which demanded to impose a ban on voting in the second round of the election abroad until midnight. Analysts noted a tense situation in Georgia before the second round of the presidential election. The "Georgian Dream" Party is preparing the ground to encourage its supporters to go in the streets, notes Nika Chitadze. In the case of revolutionary attempts to come to power, the UNM Party will face its opponents, and the process is unlikely to be peaceful, believes Zaal Andjaparidze.

Unsuccessful subbotnik on Ingush lands handed over to Chechnya

On November 17, members of the teips (family clans), whose ancestral towers were located in the Sunzha District of Ingushetia near the Fortanga River, decided to hold a subbotnik (a volunteer cleanup) in the territory which was a subject of the dispute amid the border agreement with Chechnya. However, they failed to hold the event. A lot of law enforcers and special vehicles were accumulated in Nazran, and they prevented activists from passing to the venue of the event. Two persons were detained, and the court sentenced them to 5 days of arrest. Besides, law enforcers also detained activists Barakh Chemurziev and Akhmed Pogorov. Later, they were released.

Users of social networks assumed that the subbotnik could exasperate disagreements between Chechen and Ingush people. Analysts treated the subbotnik as an open provocation against the authorities of Chechnya, and lawyers decided that the political undertone of the action would equate it to a rally.

Snowfall provokes difficult situation on roads in Rostov Region

On November 13, in the Rostov Region, traffic jams of many kilometres occurred on a section of the M-4 Don road because of a blizzard, and a large-scale road accident took place in which one person was killed and other two were injured. In Rostov-on-Don, a snowfall provoked traffic jams, and residents could not use public transport. Municipal services were not ready for the snowfall, and the authorities suspended the traffic of route taxis, and that led to problems with transport, reported residents of Rostov. They created a petition for resignation of transport department officials.

Death of Sulieta Kusova, president of "Kunaki" Film Festival

On November 12, Sulieta Kusova, the head of the Centre for Ethnic Problems in Media at the Russian Union of Journalists, the president of the "Kunaki" Film Festival, died in Dagestan. She was 67 years old. Sulieta Kusova was preparing to undergo surgery, but rescheduled it to take part in the "Kunaki" Film Festival in Dagestan from November 4 to 11, said Ali Kamalov, the chair of the Dagestani Union of Journalists. Relatives decided to bury Sulieta Kusova in her small homeland in the Adyg aul (village) of Afipsip. Sulieta Kusova was actively involved in projects aimed at presenting the positive image of the Caucasus to residents of Russia. In the person of Sulieta Kusova, the society lost its ideologist who cared for the Caucasus, said Miyasat Muslimova, a member of the Russian Union of Journalists and the Union of Russian Writers. The death of Sulieta Kusova became a great loss for the Caucasus, noted film director Vyacheslav Ablotiya, a jury member at the "Kunaki" Film Festival.

Election of Astrakhan City Mayor

On November 14, in Astrakhan, delegates elected Radik Kharisov the head of the city administration. Earlier, he had served as the Minister of Industry, Transport and Natural Resources for the region. The election was scheduled due to the fact that Oleg Polumordvinov, who held the post of the city manager since March 2015, resigned. Six persons, including Oleg Shein, a State Duma MP from the "Spravedlivaya Rossiya" (Fair Russia) Party, were running for the post. In 2012, when the common election of the city mayor was still held, Oleg Shein did not accept the declared victory of Mikhail Stolyarov and went on hunger strike in protest for more than a month. It should be noted that in 2014, Mikhail Stolyarov were sentenced to 9 years of imprisonment on the charge of receiving a large bribe.