News

January 21, 2020 21:16

• Parliament speaker's phrase on completed border demarcation surprises Chechen natives

  On January 20, Magomed Daudov, the speaker of the Chechen parliament, reported to Ramzan Kadyrov that the clarification of the borders of Chechnya with neighbouring regions had been completed and the information about them had been included into the state register. The demarcation was of a behind-the-scene nature amid disputes over the Chechen borders with Ingushetia and Dagestan, local residents note.

January 21, 2020 17:16

• Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of shelling attacks on border villages

  The positions of the Azerbaijani troops in two villages on the border with Armenia and in the Karabakh conflict zone were shelled 22 times within 24 hours, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Azerbaijan reports.

January 21, 2020 11:55

• Kadyrov touches on the topic of his departure after sick leave

  Ramzan Kadyrov is back at work after his sick-leave and reacted to publications about his resignation and possible new appointment.

January 21, 2020 11:54

• Dagestani Islamic scholars condemn practice of "honour killings"

  "Honour killings" have nothing to do with Islam – those who commit such crimes are guided by ancient mountain Adats, Dagestani theologians have noted.

January 21, 2020 11:16

• Residents of Azerbaijan pay tribute to victims of "Black January"

  In Baku, thousands of people came to the Alley of Martyrs on the 30th anniversary of the entry of Soviet troops. In Azerbaijan, people recalled the responsibility of the USSR authorities for the killings of civilians.

January 21, 2020 11:10

• Human rights defenders associate violence against Sevgiya Ismailova in Azerbaijan with Caucasian traditions

  The bullying of Sevgiya Ismailova by her relatives in Azerbaijan is based on typical parents' desire in the Caucasus to make decisions for their children, believe Svetlana Gannushkina, the head of the "Civic Assistance Committee", and Igor Kochetkov, the head of the "Russian LGBT Network". Sevgiya Ismailova claimed a psychological trauma had been inflicted on her.

January 21, 2020 11:05

• Colleagues of journalist Gadjiev note increase in number of people wishing to support him

  On Monday, in Makhachkala, eight activists held solo pickets in support of arrested journalist Abdulmumin Gadjiev. The number of the persons willing to openly support him will increase significantly in case if the authorities sanction a mass action, picketers believe.

January 20, 2020 23:46

• Georgian transgender women accuse police of biased attitude

  Four transgender women are suspected of disorderly conduct and failure to obey the police, while people who attacked the transgender women remained unpunished, claimed a transgender woman detained in Tbilisi.

January 20, 2020 23:42

• Ramzan Kadyrov announces his career plans

  For the first time after a week break, Ramzan Kadyrov delivered a speech in Grozny. He announced his future career plans.

January 20, 2020 23:35

• Azerbaijani singer Yusif Eyvazov accused of inciting hostility

  Armenian and German opera artists reproached Azerbaijani tenor Yusif Eyvazov for refusing to sing on the same stage with singer Ruzan Mantashyan at a festival in Dresden. Yusif Eyvazov called the above accusations a provocation, while festival organizers denied the information about his refusal to sing on the same stage with Ruzan Mantashyan.

January 20, 2020 22:58

• ECtHR accepts complaint about detention of human rights defenders in Chechnya

  The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ordered the Russian authorities to answer questions concerning the complaint about the detention of activists from the Joint Mobile Group (JMG) in Chechnya in 2010, the Committee Against Torture (CaT) reported.

January 20, 2020 21:30

• Chechen resident surprised by Ramzan Kadyrov's weekly absence in public

  Ramzan Kadyrov missed all significant events and did not appear in public at all since the transfer of his powers to Muslim Khuchiev, residents of Chechnya note. Supporters of the leader of Chechnya on Instagram called him on to return "despite the jackals' words."

January 20, 2020 16:04

• On January 13-19, 2020, no one fell victim to armed conflict in Northern Caucasus

  During the week of January 13-19, 2020, no victims to the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus were registered. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

January 20, 2020 15:56

• Social network users react to sentence for "honour killing" in Dagestan

  A resident of Dagestan is sentenced for killing his stepsister. He claimed that she did not obey him and did not want to get married. Social network users expressed different opinions on Instagram. Meanwhile, many users supported the sentenced man.

January 20, 2020 15:45

• Strengthened checkpoints indicate Kadyrov's refusal to smooth road checks in Chechnya

  In Chechnya, construction of checkpoints proves that Ramzan Kadyrov abandoned the idea of eliminating checkpoints on roads, political analysts note. There is no practical benefit from the strengthening of checkpoints, says Ingush human rights defender Magomed Mutsolgov.

January 20, 2020 13:34

• Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of January 13-19, 2020

  Announcement of new presidential election in Abkhazia; mass poisoning in Kizlyar; charges of extremism brought against protest leaders in Ingushetia; resonance after information about Ramzan Kadyrov's illness; demand of Krasny Sulin residents to preserve Verbenskoye reservoir, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of January 13-19, 2020, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

January 20, 2020 11:25

• Tbilisi activist detained after trying to defend transgender women

  The police detained one of the transgender women who were attacked in Tbilisi and activist Nata Peradze, who stood up for the detainee.

January 20, 2020 11:20

• "Russian LGBT Network" takes Sevgiya Ismailova under its wing

  Sevgiya Ismailova, who managed to escape from her relatives in Azerbaijan and return to Russia, is safe, reports the head of the "Russian LGBT Network".

January 19, 2020 11:34

• HRW claims restrictions to fundamental freedoms in Azerbaijan

  In 2019, the Azerbaijan's authorities continued to maintain rigid control, severely curtailing freedoms of association, expression, and assembly. Some of the persons sentenced on politically motivated charges remained in prisons, and the persecution of critics of the authorities continued, the international human rights organization "Human Rights Watch" (HRW) states in its report.

January 19, 2020 11:19

• NAC reports liquidation of 11 IS* units in Dagestan

  In 2019, in Dagestan, the law enforcement bodies stopped activities of 11 secret units of the "Islamic State" (IS), a terrorist organization banned in Russia by the court. This was reported by Igor Sirotkin, the deputy director of the Russian FSB and the chief of the administration of the National Antiterrorist Committee (NAC).