Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of September 23-29, 2024

Explosion at petrol station, drones and fires, persecution of pacifists and activists in Southern Russia, Caucasus and the “Wildberries” Company, parliamentary elections in Georgia, and official data on the natives of Southern Russia who perished in Ukraine, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of September 23-29, 2024, prepared by the “Caucasian Knot”.

Explosion at petrol station

An explosion occurred in Novy Khushet, at a petrol station on the road in the Karabudakhkent District, the Makhachkala City Mayoralty reported on September 27. The death toll has reached 13.

Three out of the seven victims stay in moderate condition, and another patient is in severe condition, the Dagestani Ministry for Public Health reports.

On September 28, the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) reported that Marat Djankhuvatov, an owner of the petrol station, had been detained in a case instituted after the explosion. Violations were discovered at the petrol station, but they were subsequently corrected, reported Sergey Melikov, the leader of Dagestan. He added that in 2023, more than 230 petrol stations were suspended because of violations, but soon more than 130 of them resumed operation by court decision.

The “Nadezhda” charity foundation raised 3 million roubles to help the victims and families of those killed in the explosion at the petrol station, the “RIA Dagestan” news agency reported.

Drones and fires

On September 23, Vasily Golubev, Governor of the Rostov Region, reported about neutralized drones. “Around midnight, in the area of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, the Russian air defence units … destroyed three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). As a result of the UAVs’ fragments falling down, dry vegetation caught fire in the field. There were no casualties or damage,” the Governor of the Rostov Region reported in his Telegram channel.

On the other day, Vasily Golubev reported about the fire caused by a drone attack. In the industrial zone of Taganrog, a fire broke out at a timber warehouse because of a UAV crash, there were no casualties, the Governor of the Rostov Region reported. “The roof of the building and four cars that were parked nearby were damaged by fire,” the Governor explained.

On the night of September 27, seven drones were shot down near Novoshakhtinsk. Vasily Golubev claimed that when the drone fragments fell in the field, the grass caught fire, but it was quickly extinguished. On September 29, the Russian air defence forces shot down four drones in the Azovsky District, and the resulting fire was extinguished, the Governor of the Rostov Region announced. Later, the official reported that eighteen drones were neutralized over the region on the night of September 29. And in the Milyutinsky District, a forest fire started because of the fall of a drone. As a result, a residential building was damaged.

According to the information released by the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD), on the night of September 29, the air defence forces neutralized 67 drones over the Volgograd Region. There were no casualties as a result of the massive drone attack, the regional administration reported in its Telegram channel.

In the village of Shabelskoye in the Scherbinovsky District, a UAV crashed into a tree and exploded. The blast wave knocked out the windows and doors of a nearby house, and fragments damaged a car, Veniamin Kondratiev, Governor of the Krasnodar Territory, reported in his Telegram channel.

On the night of September 21, the Tikhoretsky District was attacked by drones. As a result of the fall of fragments from one of the drones, a fire broke out that spread “to explosive objects,” after which “a detonation occurred,” Governor of the Krasnodar Territory Veniamin Kondratiev reported.

Persecution of pacifists and activists in Southern Russia

In Gelendzhik, despite the defence’s protest, a court closed the trial in a case against blogger Vadim Kharchenko* at a request of the victim and the public prosecutor. The defendant, advocates, and court visitors suggested that the court’s decision was intended to conceal the lack of evidence for the charges and the falsifications in the case.

Caucasus and the “Wildberries” Company

During a meeting of the Ingush and Chechen delegations in Moscow, Adam Delimkhanov placed responsibility for the incident on Bekkhan Barakhoev, a Russian State Duma member from Ingushetia. Adam Delimkhanov claimed that the natives of Chechnya had to open return fire after they themselves came under fire, and threatened Bekkhan Barakhoev with consequences. The Russian State Duma member from Ingushetia claimed that security guards of the “Wildberries” Company’s office were not armed.

Delegates from Chechnya also expressed their dissatisfaction with the claims of the Ingush side in connection with the deaths of two security guards, recalling two cases when Chechen were killed, after which there were no calls for revenge against residents of the neighbouring republic. The Ingush side, represented by Musa Albogachiev and Mikail Gutseriev, promised not to allow anything similar in the future. The conflict between Russian State Duma members Adam Delimkhanov and Bekkhan Barakhoev in connection with the situation around the “Wildberries” Company lies in the sphere of business interests and does not affect relations between the peoples of Chechnya and Ingushetia, analysts believe.

While the delegations of Chechnya and Ingushetia met with the purpose to prevent the escalation of the conflict after the shooting near the office of the “Wildberries” Company, Adam Delimkhanov called during the meeting for “cutting off heads,” stated Musa Albogachiev, a member of the National Council of Ingushetia.

Detained Zurab Esmurziev, Idris Dakiev, and Umar Maloroev admitted their guilt in failure to obey the police during the conflict. The remaining sixteen defendants claim that they appeared at the place by chance and that there was no mass brawl or shooting.

At a request of the defence, the Moscow City Court released from custody Adam Vedzizhev, who was arrested on September 20 for fifteen days together with other people who tried to break into the hospital. The defence provided a certificate of the Adam Vedzizhev’s health state and indicated that the arrest could not be applied to Groups I and II Invalid people with disabilities.

The defence challenged the arrest of Umar Chichaev, an MMA fighter from Chechnya, accused in the case on shooting. According to the source’s information, those arrested in the case on shooting intend to sign contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and go to the special military operation (SMO) zone in Ukraine, the “Ura.ru” portal reports.

Parliamentary elections in Georgia

The next parliamentary elections in Georgia, scheduled for October 26, will be held amid a sharp confrontation between the ruling party and the opposition, the parliament and the president, as well as the European and pro-Russian paths of the country’s development. Twenty-seven parties are participating in the elections. To be elected to parliament, a party is to win more than five percents of votes.

The voting will be electronic. The gender quota has been abolished. A number of changes have also been introduced into the work of election commissions.

New election posters of the “Georgian Dream” Party have appeared on the streets of Tbilisi with the inscription: “No to war! Choose peace!”. One side of the poster depicts destroyed cities of Ukraine, and the other side shows cities of Georgia. The comparison of the cities of Ukraine affected by shelling attacks and the cities of Georgia, used by the “Georgian Dream” Party, is not ethical and unacceptable, politicians and activists claim. The ruling party’s election campaign was also criticized by the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). The Prime Minister of Georgia objected that the ruling party chose such a way to remind the people of what “they managed to prevent.”

Polling stations will be open in 42 countries, including where they were not open before – in the UAE, Finland, and Japan, reports Natiya Ioseliani, a member of the Central Election Commission (CEC). The Central Election Commission’s refusal to open additional polling stations in foreign cities where many Georgian citizens live violates the voters’ rights, the opposition claims.

Nineteen political associations and electoral entities have submitted their party lists, reports CEC chairman Giorgi Kalandarishvili. The largest list, which includes 170 names, has been submitted by the “Georgian Dream” Party. The list has been headed by the party’s founder Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Official data on natives of Southern Russia perished in Ukraine

By September 29, the authorities and the law enforcement bodies reported about at least 4983 residents of Southern Russia perished in Ukraine, including 2391 residents of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) and 2592 residents of the Southern Federal District (SFD).

In Dagestan, the authorities reported about 1046 local residents perished in Ukraine, in the Volgograd Region – 943, in the Krasnodar Territory – 563, in the Rostov Region – 556, in the Stavropol Territory – 491, in the Astrakhan Region – 376, in North Ossetia – 310, in Chechnya – 208, in Kabardino-Balkaria – 168, in Kalmykia – 94, in Ingushetia – 88, in Karachay-Cherkessia – 80, and in Adygea – 60.

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.