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The Murder of Natalya Estemirova: Rights Activists Doubt Moscow's Explanation
This week, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that investigators have identified and are hunting for the killer of human rights activists Natalya Estemirova. Many,...
View ArticleAnarchy in Dagestan: Islamists Gain Upper Hand in Russian Republic
Nowhere in Russia is the situation so explosive as in the autonomous republic of Dagestan. An ongoing Islamist insurgency has plunged the corruption-plagued region into near civil war. Some...
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Kadyrov's Web of Influence: Chechen Exile Murder Trial Begins in Vienna
A trial involving the spectacular murder of a Chechen exile begins Tuesday in Vienna. Austrian investigators believe it was a contract killing which may be linked to Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov,...
View ArticleTwist in Vienna Trial: Suspect in Murder of Exiled Chechen Pops up in Grozny
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is alleged to have orchestrated the murder of a regime opponent in Vienna. The suspected perpetrator is currently on the run and appears to have popped up in Grozny....
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'Terrible Losses Overnight': Cables Track US Diplomatic Efforts to Avert...
The leaked embassy cables show how the US, after spending years helping to build up Georgia's military capabilities, made last-ditch diplomatic attempts to avert the August 2008 conflict between...
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Wedding in the Caucasus: The US Ambassador Learns that Cognac Is Like Wine
It was surely one of the strangest parties ex-US Ambassador to Moscow William Burns ever attended. In August 2006, he sent a dispatch to the US State Department describing a high society wedding in the...
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Awkward Encounters: The Klitschkos and the Chechen Despot
Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko aren't just feared boxers -- they are almost universally admired for their support of democracy. But recent appearances with infamous Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov have...
View ArticleExplosion in Russia: Presumed Terror Attack Kills Dozens at Moscow Airport
Up to 35 people are dead and scores wounded following a powerful explosion at Moscow's busiest airport on Monday. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said the blast was the work of terrorists.
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Moscow Terror Attack: Russia Must Develop an Alternative to Islamism in the...
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev wants to weaken Islamist militants in the Caucasus by building infrastructure projects worth billions. But Monday's terror attack in Moscow shows once again how hard...
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Terrorism in Russia: Medvedev Slams Airport Security in Attack's Aftermath
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has strongly criticized security officials at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport, where a terrorist attack killed at least 35 and injured scores on Monday afternoon....
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Minorities Under Attack: The Germ of Hate Spreads in Russia
The terror attack on Moscow's main airport last week has fuelled the flames of xenophobia in Russia. The Kremlin isn't intervening to halt the trend that could cause deep rifts in the country's...
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A Chechen Strongman's New Toy: Legendary Soccer Trainer Ruud Gullit Takes on...
Dutch soccer star Ruud Gullit was a legend in the 1980s. Now he is the new manager of Chechen team Terek Grozny as part of a pet project by Chechnya's hardman leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, who hopes football...
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Nabbing the Gunman: Suspected Politkovskaya Killer Captured in Chechnya
For almost five years, Rustum Makhmudov had managed to avoid arrest. Now, the suspected killer of Russian journalist Anna Polikovskaya has been arrested in Chechnya. Investigators hope to learn who...
View ArticleRussian Election: The Kremlin's Dangerous Flirtation with Nationalism
Ahead of Russia's parliamentary elections on Sunday, the pro-Kremlin parties are using nationalist rhetoric in a bid to exploit growing right-wing sentiment in the country. But it's a dangerous game....
View ArticlePutin's Unruly Children: A New Generation Aims to Revitalize Russia
Russia's young people are growing up with more freedom than ever. Twenty years after the end of communism, the first post-Soviet generation is transforming the country -- whether the once and future...
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Georgian Billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili: 'I Am the Last Free Man in This...
Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili has taken on President Mikheil Saakashvili by establishing an opposition movement. Many of his supporters were recently questioned in what Amnesty has called an...
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Election in Georgia: A Battle between Dictators and Dreamers
Parliamentary elections in the small Caucasus nation of Georgia will be held on Monday. President Saakashvili is waging a desperate effort against rivals who accuse him of behaving like a dictator. But...
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Securing Sochi: Russia's Elite Counter-Terrorism Fighters
As Russia reels from last week's terror attack in Volgograd, President Putin is going to great lengths to make sure the Winter Olympics in Sochi remain secure. The elite Spetsnaz fighters are charged...
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In Russia's Shadow: Searching for the Roots of the Georgia Problem
Georgia recently signed an association agreement with the EU and it also wants to become a member of NATO. Russia's shadow, though, continues to loom over the Caucasus, so what does the future hold for...
View ArticleA Woman's World in the Caucasus: Nagorno-Karabakh's Grand Experiment
The small, renegade republic of Nagorno-Karabakh in the Caucasus is deeply patriachal. But for the last several years, more and more women have been rising to positions of leadership in the government,...
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