News

January 28, 2014 17:45

• Ingushetia: refugees plan to raise their housing problems on Olympics starting day

  The refugees living in Ingushetia intend to hold, on the opening day of the Olympic Games in Sochi – on February 7 – a flash mob, aiming to draw the authorities' attention to their unresolved housing problems, said Zarema Evloeva, one of the organizers of the action.

January 28, 2014 13:08

• Chechnya: state servants and students report about being forced to participate in the Olympic Torch Relay

  Grozny residents argue that civil servants, employees of budget-funded organizations and university students of the republic were forcibly recruited to participate in the celebrations on the arrival of the Olympic Torch Relay in Chechnya.

January 28, 2014 11:49

• IOC President: Sochi Olympics will see no discrimination of sexual minorities

  Thomas Bach, the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has stated that during the Winter Olympics in Sochi members of sexual minorities, whether guests or athletes, will face no discrimination. An LGBT activist Nikolai Alekseev is also sure that the Olympics will pass without any scandals of homosexual nature.

January 28, 2014 05:05

• Relatives of detainees in Pyatigorsk explosion case ask rights defenders for protection

  Relatives of the residents of the Khasavyurt District, who had been detained after the explosion in front of the GIBDD (traffic police) building in Pyatigorsk, have filed an application to the HRC "Memorial" in Dagestan for assistance in establishing their whereabouts and admission of advocates to them, said Elena Denisenko, the HRC's lawyer in Dagestan.

January 28, 2014 04:06

• Ruslan Gereev: within a year of work Abdulatipov failed to solve cadre problems

  The statements of Ramazan Abdulatipov, who has been leading the Republic of Dagestan exactly for one year, were not in line with his practical activities. Major questions arise in relation to his cadre policy; while creating districts in the territory of the republic does not look an optimal management decision, said the experts questioned by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

January 28, 2014 03:25

• In Azerbaijan, invalid tried to burn himself down due to refusal of social benefits, his relatives say

  In the Azerbaijani town of Evlakh, a 45-year-old Nizami Kerimov made a self-immolation attempt in front of the district centre of social protection of population in protest against the refusal to pay him the targeted social benefits, said his sister. The victim's condition is grave; he is conscious but cannot speak, doctors report.

January 28, 2014 02:48

• Anna Politkovskaya was assassinated for her publications in media, public prosecution claims

  Boris Loktionov, the state prosecutor, said at the trial for the journalist's murder at the Moscow City Court (MCC) that the motive behind Anna Politkovskaya's murder was in her publications. The defendants' advocates have reiterated their clients' innocence.

January 27, 2014 23:18

• On January 20-26, fourteen persons fell victim to armed conflict in Northern Caucasus

  At least 14 people suffered from the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus during the week from January 20 to January 26, 2014; of them, nine persons were lost and five wounded. These are the results of the calculations made by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

January 27, 2014 21:30

• Dagestan: Olympic Flame was welcomed by 20,000 spectators (video)

  In Dagestan, the welcoming ceremony of the Olympic Flame was held at the "Anji Arena" Stadium, in the presence of about 20,000 spectators, the spokesman of the relay organizing committee told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

January 27, 2014 18:01

• Dagestani students report that they were sent to Olympic Torch Relay to increase the crowd

  In Dagestan, at the "Anji Arena" Stadium the ceremony of honouring the Olympic Flame was over. Students of the Kaspiysk Medical College were sent to the event as spectators in order to increase the audience, young people report.

January 27, 2014 16:17

• Security detained in Stavropol Territory on suspicion of killing policemen

  Investigators have detained an employee of a private security company and declared his two more colleagues wanted on suspicion of killing two policemen in the Stavropol Territory, representatives of law enforcement bodies of the region have reported.

January 27, 2014 14:45

• At the trial of Politkovskaya's murder five jurors excluded

  At the trial dealing with the murder of the journalist Anna Politkovskaya, five members were excluded from the jury. This was announced at the first session on the merits on Monday at the Moscow City Court.

January 27, 2014 12:23

• FH's list of free countries has none from Southern Caucasus

  The International human rights organization "Freedom House" (FH) with the headquarters in the United States has published its annual report on the situation of political rights throughout the world. According to the FH, by the end of 2013, none of the South-Caucasian countries is free.

January 27, 2014 12:17

• Pavel Astakhov reports to UN experts on absence of violations of children rights in Chechnya

  Pavel Astakhov, Russian Commissioner for Children Rights, has reported to the experts of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on the situation of children in Chechnya. He has stated the absence of violations. The assessment of the situation expressed by Pavel Astakhov does not coincide with the earlier expressed opinions of officials and human rights defenders, who paid attention to the lack of places in kindergartens in Chechnya and refusals to let children to stay with their mothers in case of parents' divorce.

January 27, 2014 11:04

• Visitors of gay clubs refute Anatoly Pakhomov's statements about absence of sexual minorities in Sochi

  Sexual minorities have denied the statement made by Anatoly Pakhomov, Mayor of Sochi, who declared the absence of gays in the capital of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. One of the gay clubs is situated not far from the house, where Anatoly Pakhomov lives. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by regular visitors of the gay clubs.

January 27, 2014 09:15

• In Dagestan, bikers and riders participate in Olympic Torch Relay

  On Sunday, on the 113th day of the Olympic Torch Relay, the torch has arrived in Dagestan. The length of the stage was 6.7 kilometres. This was stated by Olga Gorlova, a member of the organizing committee for the preparation and holding of the Olympic Torch Relay.

January 27, 2014 09:06

• Week in the Caucasus: review of main events on January 20-26

  Arrest and removal from office of Deputy Prime Minister of Dagestan Magomedgusen Nasrutdinov; elimination of consequences of freezing rain in Krasnodar Territory and Adygea, which caused electricity and heat supply outages in the regions; Olympic Torch Relay in Volgograd and Rostov Regions, Stavropol Territory and Kalmykia; actions in Georgia and Armenia in support of Ukrainian Euromaidan, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of January 20-26, 2014, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

January 27, 2014 05:05

• Astrakhan completes Olympic Torch Relay

  On January 26, Astrakhan hosted a stage of the Olympic Torch Relay. The torch was carried by 112 persons, and the event was ended with a concert and fireworks.

January 27, 2014 03:53

• Suspected militants killed in Makhachkala are identified

  Three suspected members of illegal armed formations (IAFs), killed during a special operation in Dagestan's capital, have been preliminary identified. This was reported by a source from the Makhachkala law enforcement bodies.

January 26, 2014 07:47

• Chechnya significantly cuts Olympic Torch Relay route

  The Chechen authorities have reduced the Olympic Torch Relay route in the republic from 34 to 16 kilometres and reduced the number of viewers, who will be involved in the festive event.