Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of July 19-25, 2021

Celebration of Eid al-Adha amid the pandemic: new measures imposed by the authorities of Southern Russia to curb the spread of coronavirus; detention of suspected extremists, the regional GIBDD chief, and a murder of a law enforcer in the Stavropol Territory; trials in Baku in an Armenian soldiers’ case; appointment of new supervisors for Southern Russia, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of July 19-25, 2021, prepared by the “Caucasian Knot”.

Celebration of Eid al-Adha amid pandemic

This year, Muslims began to celebrate Eid al-Adha, the feast of the sacrifice, on July 20. On the occasion of the holiday the republics of Northern Caucasus announced days off.

On the holiday of Eid al-Adha, some of Makhachkala residents, interviewed by the “Caucasian Knot”, attended namaz (prayer) in mosques and received guests. Others said that they had prayed at home and used the service of sacrifice through a charitable foundation. On July 20, in Chechnya, thousands of believers attended collective prayers, Ramzan Kadyrov announced. However, some residents of the republic refused to visit mosques, as they were not vaccinated against the coronavirus. Some of them took part in collective prayers in rural mosques, where imams do not require from believers the certificates of vaccination.

New measures imposed by authorities of Southern Russia to curb spread of coronavirus

Dagestan has joined the number of Russian regions where mandatory vaccination has been imposed. On July 21, the regional department of the “Rospotrebnadzor” (Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare) obliged employees of the service sector, health care, education, trade, and a number of other industries to be vaccinated, as well as public sector employees. On July 24, the “Rospotrebnadzor” expanded the list of categories of people who are subject to mandatory vaccination against coronavirus. Among them are employees of the media and transport companies, judges, and court staff, members of election commissions and election observers. On July 20, media workers of Kabardino-Balkaria were also included in the list of those required to be vaccinated against coronavirus.

Detention of suspected extremists, regional GIBDD chief, and murder of law enforcer in Stavropol Territory

On July 20, Aleksei Safonov, the chief of the GIBDD (road police) Department for the Stavropol Territory, was detained after searches. Aleksei Safonov, as well as Alexander Arzhanukhin, a former chief of the GIBDD Department, Vitaly Melchikov, an inspector of the GIBDD Department, and four civilians are suspected of receiving bribes from drivers for transporting goods in violation of the rules, investigators report. According to the investigators’ version, the total amount of bribes exceeded 19 million roubles. On the same day, State Duma Deputy Alexander Khinshtein posted photographs of the interior of a luxurious mansion, the walls of which were decorated in a classic style, and patterns were covered with gold. According to Alexander Khinshtein, the luxurious mansion belongs to Alexei Safonov. And on July 21, a video was posted on the Internet, the footage of which captured the recount of numerous hundred-dollar bills found during a search in the Aleksei Safonov’s case. According to analysts, the detention of the chief of the GIBDD Department for the Stavropol Territory fits into the campaign of corruption purges announced in the region and is beneficial to the authorities on the eve of the elections.

On July 22, the FSB reported that law enforcers detained in the Stavropol Territory eight suspected members of the “At-Takfir wal-Hijra” extremist organization, banned in Russia by the court. On the same day, the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) reported that seven residents of Dagestan, Karachay-Cherkessia, and the Stavropol Territory were detained in the region. According to the investigators’ version, the detainees are members of a banned extremist religious association and suspected of involvement in an attempt to organize a terror act on the territory of a police department in Kislovodsk this April.

On the night of July 24, an armed attack took place on the deputy chief of the Criminal Investigating Department in Stavropol, and he died in resuscitation ward of a hospital from gunshot wounds he had got. A 28-year-old suspect was detained in a case on the murder of the law enforcer. The “Baza” Telegram Channel announced the version of blood feud. According to the Telegram Channel, six years ago, the murdered man participated in a special operation in Chechnya, during which local resident Djambulat Dadaev was killed. Dadaev was wanted by the Stavropol police on suspicion of an attempt on the life of businessman Magomed Tazirov. The story became well-known due to the fact that after it Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya, allowed local law enforcers opening fire to kill their colleagues from other regions, who decided to conduct special operations in Chechnya without the consent of the local authorities.

Trials in Baku in Armenian soldiers’ case

Two trials in a case against a group of Armenian soldiers detained in December 2020 in the area of Gadrut have ended in Baku. Let us remind you that on December 13, 2020, after the autumn aggravation of the Karabakh conflict, the Azerbaijani armed forces captured about 60 Armenian citizens in the area of Gadrut. Some of them were then released, while 40 others were charged with terrorism. According to the Azerbaijani investigators’ version, the suspects bought weapons and, after the conclusion of an armistice in Nagorno-Karabakh, carried out armed attacks and arranged explosions and arsons. On July 23, the Baku Court on Grave Crimes pronounced a verdict to thirteen Armenian soldiers. They were found guilty of illegal border crossing and arms trafficking, and each defendant was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment. On July 22, the Baku Court on Grave Crimes completed the consideration of the case against other 13 accused Armenian soldiers. Each of them was sentenced to six years of imprisonment on the charge of illegal border crossing and illegal arms trafficking.

Appointment of new supervisors for Southern Russia

On July 19, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced the names of the supervisors of all federal districts, who were appointed from among the deputy prime ministers and who would be engaged in developing the investment attractiveness and comprehensive socio-economic development of the entrusted territories. Alexander Novak became the supervisor of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD), and Marat Khusnullin took a similar position in the Southern Federal District (SFD), who also headed the government commission on regional development to coordinate the supervisors’ actions.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 26, 2021 at 09:25 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.