Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of March 10-16

Closing ceremony of the Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi; rallies in support of and against the actions of the Russian authorities in Crimea; special operations in Nalchik, in which the leader of the local militants was killed, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of March 10-16, 2014, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

Closing ceremony of Paralympic Games in Sochi

On March 16, in Sochi, the "Fisht" Stadium hosted the closing ceremony of the XI Winter Paralympic Games that were started on March 7.

On March 14, Russian athletes succeeded to secure earlier leadership in the informal medal standings. In total, Russian athletes won 80 medals 30 gold, 28 silver and 22 bronze medals.

The closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games was attended by athletes from Ukraine, where change of power took place after mass protests and violent confrontation between protesters and law enforcers. On March 4, the Ukrainian Minister of Sports announced the decision to boycott the Paralympic Games. He has noted that his decision was caused solely by political motives. The National Paralympic Committee of Ukraine considered the possibility with the boycott; however, on March 7, Valery Sushkevich, the head of the Ukrainian NOC, confirmed that the athletes would stay in Sochi and participate in the competitions.

Moscow and various Russian cities, including southern ones, host rallies in support of and against actions of Russian authorities in Crimea

In Volgograd, in particular, picketers said that after the change of power in Ukraine, Russian-speaking population of the country might be infringed in their rights.

Moscow and other Russian cities also hosted anti-war rallies. In Volgograd, several people held an absurd-picket against the policy of the Russian authorities in Ukraine.

On March 16, in Tbilisi, members of the Georgian NGO "Eurasian Choice" tried to hold an action to support holding the referendum in Crimea in front of the former Russian Embassy. However, the action was thwarted by members of the NGO "Free Zone".

It should be noted that in Crimea, men in camouflage took control of a number of strategic sites. On March 4, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that were "local defence forces", and the media and social networks published photos, showing, according to their authors, that Russian troops appeared in the territory of Crimea. Meanwhile, military experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot", expressed different estimates for evidence of presence in Crimea of military vehicles from the south of Russia.

Kabardino-Balkaria: leader of local militants was killed during special operation

On March 14, a counterterrorist operation (CTO) regime was introduced in Nalchik. During the special operation, a private house with yard located not far from the city hospital was blocked. According to a source from the law enforcement agencies of the republic, during the assault of the house, Tengiz Guketlov, a 30-year-old resident of Baksan, was killed. Several months earlier, he became the leader of the illegal armed formations (IAFs) in Kabardino-Balkaria. Anzor Margushev and Vadim Shogenov, two residents of the Zolsky District, who were put on the wanted list for attacks on taxi drivers in the Stavropol Territory, were also killed together with Tengiz Guketlov.

Krasnodar Territory: strong hurricane in Novorossiysk and termination of prosecution against journalist Nikolai Yarst

On March 10-11, in the city of Novorossiysk of the Krasnodar Territory, a strong hurricane occurred. The speed of wind striking the city reached 35-40 meters per second. The hurricane winds tore off roofs of houses, broke trees and billboards. In one of the parts of the city, a state of emergency was announced. At least nine persons sought medical aid. The hurricane damaged 176 roofs of houses, and power outages occurred. According to the preliminary information announced by the city authorities, the hurricane caused damage for millions of roubles.

Prosecution against Nikolai Yarst, a journalist of the Russian Public TV Channel in Sochi, who was accused of drug possession, was terminated by rehabilitating grounds. This was reported by advocate Alexander Popkov. According to him, the resolution to close the criminal case states it has been done "because of lack of evidence." Earlier, the journalist himself associated the case against him with his professional activities.

Armenia: Parliament rejects carrying out re-investigation into events of March 1, 2008

On March 10, deputies of the National Assembly of Armenia rejected by majority of votes the initiative to create a temporary parliamentary commission to investigate the events of March 1-2, 2008. On those dates, after the presidential election, being disagree with the election results, people gathered to the protest action, which grew into clashes with the police. Then, 10 persons became victims of the clashes, and more than 260 persons were injured. The creation of the commission sought by the opposition was supported by voted 46 MPs. 66 MPs voted against the creation of the commission, and one MP abstained.