Week in the Caucasus: review of main events on May 24-30

Aggravation of situation in Kabardino-Balkaria; resonant terror act in Stavropol; elections to local governments in Georgia, - look these and other events in the review of the week from May 24 to May 30, 2010, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

Explosions and shellings get frequent in Kabardino-Balkaria

The passed week brought new facts of explosions and shellings in Kabardino-Balkaria.

So, on May 25, two militiamen were contused by explosion of a service car of the road-patrol service at the exit from the city of Tyrnyauz in Kabardino-Balkaria. When the place of the incident was inspected, four more explosive devices were detected; two of them blew up and wounded a dog specialist.

On that very day, law enforcers of the KBR (Kabardino-Balkarian Republic) prevented an explosion in the building of the OVD (Interior Division) in the city of Baksan. However, this could not be done in the capital of the Republic - the city of Nalchik: a powerful explosion was triggered there in the evening of that very day.

At night on May 30, a car of the Road-Patrol Service was shelled in the Cherek District of Kabardino-Balkaria.

From May 28 on, because of the aggravated situation, the special complex preventive operation (SCPO) regime was introduced in Kabardino-Balkaria.

Resignation of North-Ossetian Mufti accepted

On Monday, May 24, the Spiritual Department of Moslems of North Ossetia accepted resignation of the Mufti of the republic Ali-Hadji Evteev. The reason of resignation was in his interview of May 2, 2010, published by the IA "Regnum", where Mr Evteev said that he "had been very radical" and "went to take lessons from Khattab." Besides, the Mufti criticized the behaviour of Orthodox clerics and accused them of passivity, having treated them as "community, which has barred people's way to the God."

Terror act in Stavropol took away seven lives

In the evening on May 26, when some 150 persons, who came to the concert of the "Vainakh" Chechen Company, gathered in front of the building of the Palace of Culture in the city of Stavropol, an explosion was triggered. As a result, seven persons were lost and about 50 more were wounded. Residents of the Stavropol Territory, Karachai-Circassia, Chechnya, Krasnodar Territory, Ingushetia, Moscow and Azerbaijan were among the victims of the terror act.

As on the weekend, on May 30, 32 victims were still in hospitals; two in extreme grave condition, four - in grave one and 8 - in medium gravity. The health condition of 18 victims is assessed as satisfactory; 12 more persons with light wounds are receiving their out-patient treatment.

Inspectors study five main versions of the terror act: an explosion with the aim to intimidate townspeople and influence local authorities; a crime of radicals aimed against non-Slavic nationals; an interethnic conflict (irrespective of Slavic or non-Slavic origin of its participants); and businessmen's or gangsters' showdowns.

The inspectors have held over 150 investigatory and other procedural actions under the terror act criminal case. The Investigatory Committee at the Prosecutor's Office (ICPO) of the Russian Federation has initiated criminal cases against officials of the GUVD (Chief Interior Department) of the Stavropol Territory, who exhibited negligence in preparation for a concert in the local Palace of Culture.

Georgia holds municipal elections

On May 30, elections to local governments took place in Georgia. Three constituencies also held intermediate parliamentary elections. Three electoral blocks and 14 political parties took part in the elections.

For the first time Tbilisi Mayor was elected by direct voting. So far, the country's capital is the only Georgian city, where Mayor was elected in this way. Earlier, it was done by the members of the Sakrebulo (local government). Nine candidates had been nominated to the post of the Mayor.

Observers from 36 local and 28 international NGOs were monitoring the elections. As a whole, the international observers were positive in their estimates. The NGO named "Multinational Georgia", which monitored eight constituencies in the regions of Samtshe-Dzhavakheti and Kvemo-Kartli, filed over 40 complaints to electoral administrations on violations during voting.

President Mikhail Saakashvili already in the evening on May 30, not waiting for the announcement of the Central Electoral Committee of Georgia of the outcomes of the elections, congratulated the party in power with victory on the basis of the data of exit polls conducted by the GFK and Edison Research.