News

February 06, 2023 19:52

• Kadyrov responds to criticism about relatives in power

  The appointment of relatives to key positions in Chechnya is explained by trust in them, and not by kinship, Ramzan Kadyrov said in response to criticism about the appointment of his nephew as a minister.

February 06, 2023 18:53

• Volgograd residents complain about authorities’ indifference to violation of people’s housing rights

  Residents of a house in Volgograd complained to Alexander Bastrykin, the chair of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF), that officials did not relocate them from a failing building, the state of which threatens the people’s safety.

February 06, 2023 16:00

• Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of January 30-February 5, 2023

  Scandals with Ramzan Kadyrov, continuation of the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, official data on the natives of Southern Russia perished in Ukraine, struggle of Azerbaijani oppositionists, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of January 30-February 5, 2023, prepared by the “Caucasian Knot”.

February 05, 2023 05:58

• Spouses from Rostov-on-Don sentenced for setting fire to a car with Z sign

  Oleg Denisov and Irina Kuznetsova from Rostov-on-Don were sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony for setting fire to a car with symbols of the special military operation in Ukraine.

February 04, 2023 23:58

• Court refuses to remove Dagestani resident from police preventive registration

  A resident of Dagestan did not succeed in seeking in court a removal from the police preventive registration list under the category of “extremist”. The court based its decision on the police’s assertion that no such police preventive registration lists were run.

February 04, 2023 23:42

• Social media users criticize idea of making Kadyrov the “father of the country”

  The idea to supplement the position of the leader of Chechnya with the title of “father of the country” is inappropriate and causes irony with its excessive pathos, Telegram users point out.

February 04, 2023 17:02

• Ingush natives express their hope for commutation of punishment for protest leaders

  Partial access to the case file violates the right of Ingush opposition leaders to defence and is recognized as a legal basis for annulment of the decision, advocate Magomed Bekov states.

February 04, 2023 15:18

• Kadyrov’s title “Mekhkan Da” reminds of personality cult of Stalin

  The term of “Mekhkan Da”, literally translated from the Chechen language as “father of the people,” was not earlier used in the Chechen society. An attempt to introduce it is connected with the Ramzan Kadyrov’s leadership style, which inherits the Stalinist model, analysts point out.

February 04, 2023 15:01

• Dagestani Jehovah’s Witnesses* refuse to appeal against suspended sentences

  Four Jehovah’s Witnesses* who received suspended sentences withdrew their appeals against the verdict, and it came into force, the Supreme Court of Dagestan reported.

February 03, 2023 16:50

• Fine imposed on Sochi woman for status in Korean on WhatsApp surprises social media users

  A court in Sochi has fined a local resident who, the day before, posted a translation of a pro-Ukrainian slogan into the Korean language as her WhatsApp status.

February 03, 2023 16:46

• Rights defenders link Gireeva’s return with psychological breakdown

  The decision of Leyla Gireeva to return to her family in Ingushetia was caused by the severe stress that the girl faced. Fear of the uncertainty in the future and longing for relatives used to encourage other fugitives to return home, human rights defenders have pointed out.

February 03, 2023 16:38

• Zarema Musaeva’s arrest extended by three months

  A court in Grozny has extended the arrest of Zarema Musaeva until May 12, 2923, human rights defenders have informed.

February 03, 2023 16:35

• Chechnya: children involved in activities in defence of Koran

  Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya, has posted a video with the mass participation of children speaking out in defence of the Koran in response to the actions with the burning of this book held in Denmark and Sweden.

February 03, 2023 16:28

• Female students expelled because of hijabs are allowed to return to NMC

  Five girls-students of the Novocherkassk Medical College (NMC), including the natives of Dagestan and Chechnya, earlier expelled for wearing hijabs, can resume their studies, their advocate has informed.

February 03, 2023 16:19

• Chechen MPs propose to supplement title of Kadyrov’s position with title “father of country”

  A draft law proposing to supplement the position of the leader of Chechnya with the title “Mekhkan Da” has been published on the official website of the republic’s parliament.

February 03, 2023 15:43

• Chechen SC cancels refusal to recognize wife of killed Tepsurkaev as victim

  The decision of the court, which refused to recognize a wife of Salman Tepsurkaev as a victim in the case on his kidnapping, was cancelled by the Supreme Court (SC) of Chechnya. The Court of Appeal pointed to significant violations of the law by the first instance court.

February 02, 2023 19:29

• Court extends arrest of accounts of activist Antonova and her mother

  The arrest of bank accounts of the Krasnodar activist Yana Antonova and her mother has been extended until May. The court ruling named the pensioner as an employee of an extremist organization, the activist herself has informed.

February 02, 2023 19:24

• Caucasian scholars point to changes in blood feud practices

  Chechen authorities are unable to eradicate the practice of blood feud; this custom has adapted itself to the Sharia Law and remains relevant, Oyub Titiev, a human rights defender, and Akhmet Yarlykapov, a Caucasian scholar, believe. 

February 02, 2023 19:09

• Female rights defenders are sceptical about Mezhiev’s words about mothers’ chances to see their kids

  The call of Salakh Mezhiev, the Mufti of Chechnya, not to prohibit mothers from seeing their children in the event of a divorce, if authorities and the society stay inactive, will hardly affect men in the republics of Northern Caucasus, female human rights defenders have noted.

February 02, 2023 19:06

• Leyla Gireeva, who ran away from domestic violence, returns to her family in Ingushetia

  Leyla Gireeva, an 18-year-old resident of Nazran, who ran away from home, has returned to her family and wants to settle her conflict with family members. The girl is under the recognizance not to leave, human rights defenders have informed.