Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of February 14-20, 2022

Arrival of refugees from Donbass to Southern Russia; murder of a tourist in Karachay-Cherkessia; replacement of the chair of the Dagestani government; resignation of Dmitry Trapeznikov from the post of Mayor of Elista, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of February 14-20, 2022, prepared by the “Caucasian Knot”.

Arrival of refugees from Donbass to Southern Russia

On February 18, the leaders of the self-proclaimed Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics announced a mass evacuation of residents to Russia in connection with a possible aggravation of the situation. Already on the night of February 19, the first buses with refugees arrived in the Rostov Region. Some of the temporary accommodation centres were not ready to receive refugees, and some of the arrived residents of Donbass had to stay on buses for a long time. The refugees themselves complained about the uncertainty, as well as about the rupture of families because of the ban on men leaving the territories of the unrecognized republics. The authorities of other regions of Southern Russia also announced their readiness to accept refugees from Donbass.

In the Rostov Region, the authorities introduced a state of emergency in connection with the arrival of refugees. Vladimir Putin instructed to pay each refugee 10,000 roubles. The region has also opened the Centre for Legal Assistance to Refugees. The authorities of the Volgograd Region have introduced a high alert regime in connection with preparations for the reception of refugees. On the evening of February 20, a train arrived in the city of Volzhsky and brought 433 residents of Donbass. Three hotels and a sanatorium in Volzhsky and Volgograd have been prepared for their accommodation, and after registration, the people will be distributed to other municipalities. President of South Ossetia Anatoly Bibilov proposed to place in the region a group of orphans from the self-proclaimed republics. President of Abkhazia Aslan Bzhaniya announced his readiness to provide military and humanitarian assistance to Donbass.

Murder of a tourist in Karachay-Cherkessia

On February 17, investigators put on the federal wanted list Abdullakh Bostanov, a 34-year-old native of the village of Storozhevaya in Karachay-Cherkessia, The man is suspected of killing a tourist from Moscow. According to the investigators’ version, on February 16, residents of Moscow were travelling in a car to Arkhyz and stopped near the village of Kardonikskaya. A car with two local residents drove up to them, and they had a conflict that escalated into a fight. The suspect injured a tourist to the stomach during the fight, and the wounded man died on the way to the hospital. According to the “Baza” Telegram channel, the tourist went for a pee on the side of the road, and the local residents expressed their indignation, which caused the conflict. According to the unofficial information, two days after the incident, Abdullakh Bostanov called the police and confessed to the murder, noting that he was ready to be punished and compensate for the loss of the victim’s relatives. The incident caused a wide public outcry. On February 18, the Federal Tourism Agency announced that the murder of the tourist in Karachay-Cherkessia had no justification and that guests have always been treated with respect in the Caucasus. In response, Instagram users have pointed out that tourists need to be reminded of the need to follow the rules of conduct adopted in Northern Caucasus.

Replacement of chair of Dagestani government

On February 17, Dagestani leader Sergey Melikov signed a decree on the resignation of Abdulpatakh Amirkhanov, the chair of the government of the republic, at his own request. When explained his decision, the leader of Dagestan said that the Russian Ministry of Finance proposed to appoint Abdulpatakh Amirkhanov the head of the republican department of the Federal Treasury. Abdulpatakh Amirkhanov became the chair of the Dagestani government in November 2020, and, according to local journalists, there were no obvious failures in his activities, because of which he would need to be removed. Experts interviewed by the “Caucasian Knot” point out that the resignation of Abdulpatakh Amirkhanov from the post of the chair of the government of Dagestan was the result of a hidden confrontation between the leader of the republic and senator Suleiman Kerimov. Abdulmuslim Abdulmuslimov, who replaced Abdulpatakh Amirkhanov as the chair of the Dagestani government, does not represent a political influence group and is more convenient for Sergey Melikov, the experts explain.

Resignation of Dmitry Trapeznikov from post of Mayor of Elista

On February 15, members of the Elista City Assembly granted a request of Dmitry Trapeznikov for the early resignation as the head of the city administration. Shafran Tepshinov, the first deputy of Trapeznikov, became the acting mayor. The day before, the republic’s leader Batu Khasikov announced that Dmitry Trapeznikov would take the post of the deputy chair of the government of Kalmykia; and on February 16, a relevant decree was signed. Let us remind you that Dmitry Trapeznikov, who headed the unrecognized Donetsk People’s Republic in the summer of 2018, became the interim head of Elista in September 2019. That fact caused mass protests of the city residents; however, on March 3, 2020, the members of the Elista City Assembly voted for the appointment of Dmitry Trapeznikov as the head of the city administration.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 21, 2022 at 09:10 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.