Last week, Chechen rebel leader Dokka Umarov finally confirmed his decision to declare a Caucasian Emirate (Chechnya Weekly, November 1 and 8). His statement on the Emirate was posted on the Kavkaz-Center rebel website on November 21. Moreover, two days later, Kavkaz-Center posted two videos of Dokka Umarov in which …

OMON (Russian Special Purpose Police Squad) riot police broke up a demonstration against the administration of Ingushetia’s President, Murat Zyazikov, in Nazran on November 24. The organizing committee for the protest, which was planned for November 24, had earlier announced that it would be postponed until December-citing, among other things, …

Voters in Russia’s Far East have begun voting in parliamentary elections that are expected to hand a huge majority to the ruling party which has Vladimir Putin, the president, as a candidate.