Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of July 15-21

Actions in support of opposition leader and blogger Alexei Navalny in cities of Southern Russia; death of a child from meningitis in North Ossetia; natural disaster in Georgia flooding 20 villages; nomination of incumbent heads of Ingushetia and Dagestan for the upcoming indirect elections; verdict in the case of the death of a tourist at "Zorb" entertainment in Karachay-Cherkessia; establishment of a new oppositional alliance in Azerbaijan in support of the National Council of Democratic Forces, – look these and other events in the Caucasus in the review of the week of July 15-21, 2013, prepared by the"Caucasian Knot".

NCFD and SFD cities hold actions in support of Alexei Navalny

On July 18, the opposition leader and blogger Alexei Navalny, known for his active fight against corruption in public procurements, including in the regions of Northern Caucasus was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of embezzlement of the property of the state-owned company "Kirovles". In the courtroom, Navalny was taken under guard; and on the same day actions in support of Navalny were held in many cities of Russia, including the Southern Federal District (SFD) and the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD).

In Sochi, solo pickets and a flash mob gathered about 25 people. In Krasnodar, activists organized an action called "silent flash mob", which was attended by about 200 people. For the first 20 minutes they just talked to each other; and then, holding each others hands, they formed a circle and began applauding and shouting slogans: "Freedom!" and "One for all and all for one!"

In Astrakhan, the action took place in the form of a people's assembly; one of its 30 participants came with a poster: "Case against Navalny is case against us!" In Rostov-on-Don, the action, which was promoted in social networks, attracted about 100 people; they talked and discussed Navalny's condemnation and read poetry.

The activists who came to the action in Volgograd organized an active discussion. The 50 participants of the event included members of the oppositional parties and movements, namely, "Yabloko", "RPR-Parnas", "Left-Wing Front", "Russians" and "Militia Named After Minin and Pozharsky"; they treated the court's decision on Navalny as unfair.

In Pyatigorsk and Stavropol the bloger's supporters handed out leaflets briefly outlining the activities of the Navalny's Fund to Fight Corruption and the Internet-Project "RosPil", which revealed thefts during the construction of the pipeline "Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean" and in the work of "Russian Railways", and the possession of foreign assets with the MPs of the State Duma and the Federation Council.

On July 19, the Kirov Regional Courtreleased the opposition leader under recognizance not to leave. His supporters said that his release was an unexpected phenomenon in the history of modern Russia, and that they intend to continue the fight corruption with Navalny.

North Ossetia: child of nine dies in hospital of meningitis

On July 20, the Ministry of Public Health of North Ossetia reported a death of meningitis of a nine-year-old child; another 20 were hospitalized with suspected meningitis. All the children had recently returned from their holiday in Kabardino-Balkaria. Earlier, an outbreak of the enterovirus infection was registered in Rostov-on-Don. There, 55 children were diagnosed with "serous meningitis"; one child died there. Experts have not yet established the source of infection. According to epidemiologists, the outbreak was caused by an enterovirus, supposedly brought from China. Later, cases of meningitis in children were recorded in Adygea, Astrakhan, Volgograd, Adler, Taganrog, and still later – in Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, and the Lipetsk and Tula Regions.

Georgia: torrential rains flood houses in 20 villages

On July 19, the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in Georgia was hit by heavy rains, resulting in rivers bursting their banks and causing considerable damage to 20 villages. House ground floors were flooded in villages of the Zugdidi and Tsalendjikh Districts of the region; some of walls in them have cracks; crops were destroyed and poultry was killed. As a result of torrential rains in the mountainous Pshavi area, roads were attacked by landslides, making seven villages cut off from the outside world. The Aragvi River overflowed the banks and felled trees and posts of high-voltage lines, washing away roads and bridges.

Ingushetia: four parties support Yunus-Bek Evkurov as republic's leader

On July 18, five parties that took part in the consultations held at the Russian presidential administration named their candidates for the post of the head of Ingushetia, whose indirect election is scheduled for September. The "Edinaya Rossiya" (United Russia), "Spravedlivaya Rossiya" (Fair Russia) and "Pravoe Delo" (Just Cause) offered two or three candidates each, including Yunus-Bek Evkurov, the communists nominated only Evkurov, while the liberal democrats (LDPR) nominated its State Duma MP Alexander Kropachov. By August 4, the parties should submit their final lists of candidates to the Russian president; then, within 20 days Vladimir Putin will make a shortlist of three of them to bring in for electing by the local parliament.

KChR: "Zorb" organizer sentenced conditionally

On July 18, the Karachay District Court of the Karachay-Cherkessian Republic (KChR) delivered its verdict on the case of the death of a tourist in the ball-entertainment named "Zorb" that happened on January 3 this year. The defendant – a local resident Ravil Chekunov, the organizer of the attraction, – admitted his guilt completely, was sentenced to four years' imprisonment conditionally. The verdict chosen by the court is one year more than claimed by the prosecutor for Chekunov. The court also decided to partially satisfy the civil suit lodged by the mother of the victim, who was the suffered party at the trial. Chekunov will have to pay 500,000 roubles to her as compensation for moral harm.

Dagestan: Abdulatipov is on the lists of presidential candidates from two parties

On July 17, the "Patriots of Russia" Party defined its candidates for the post of the head of Dagestan, which will be offered to the President of the Russian Federation. Ramazan Abdulatipov, the Acting President of the Republic, is among them. The next day, the spokesman of the regional branch of the "Edinaya Rossiya" (United Russia) Party reported that Abdulatipov took the first place in the preliminary list of candidates from this party. It is already known that the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) will boycott the indirect election, while the nominees from the "Spravedlivaya Rossiya" (Fair Russia) Party and the Liberal-Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) are still unknown. The deadline for presenting the lists to Russian president is July 30. Then, the local parliament will elect the republic's leader on September 8.

Azerbaijan: newly created oppositional alliance states support of NCDF

On July 17, a new alliance of political parties – the Union of Democratic Forces – was created in Azerbaijan. The coalition, which includes seven parties – the Party of National Independence of Azerbaijan, "Classic Popular Front of Azerbaijan", the Liberal Party, the "Great Azerbaijan", the People's Freedom Party and the Islamic Democratic Party – has expressed its support for the earlier established oppositional National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) and intention to contribute to the democratic nature of the upcoming October presidential election and peaceful change of power. Let us note here that the playwright Rustam Ibragimbekov, a co-founder of the Forum of Azerbaijani Intelligentsia, who is now abroad and who was elected to chair the NCDF, on July 2 was nominated by the Council as a presidential candidate.