Caucasus regional issues.
Who’s the Georgian citizen that Putin talked about in an interview with Tucker Carlson, without mentioning his name
Zelimkhan Khangoshvili (left) and his assassin Vadim Krasikov. TBILISI, DFWatch--Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested his country might exchange American journalist Evan Gershkovich for a Russian assassin jailed in Germany. Speaking to former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in a two hour long interview, the Russian leader alluded to holding negotiations about the exchange of Wall [...]
“Russian-Georgian Business Council” proposes to open road through occupied Tskhinvali
Davit Tsetskhladze (Facebook). TBILISI, DFWatch – At the meeting of the "Russia-Georgia Business Council" in Vladikavkaz, the capital of Russia’s republic of North Ossetia, the issue of opening a road connecting Russia and Georgia through occupied South Ossetia was discussed on Tuesday, according to the information spread by the news website Sova News based on the telegram [...]
Pashinyan, Aliyev to sign peace deal in Tbilisi: Armenian media
(Kavkaz-uzel.eu) A peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed in Tbilisi by the end of November or the beginning of December, and preparatory work in this regard is already actively underway in Georgia, Armenian news website Graparak reports based on its own sources. The document, which is planned to be signed in Georgia, implies [...]
Russian military start getting grip on border with Georgia to prevent conscripts’ exodus
Telegram channel SHOT On the border with Georgia, which has becomes a point of exodus for those Russian men who want to avoid conscription, Russia opens a military commissariat presence. According to the eyewitnesses from the place, at this stage the conscripts are not detained, nor are they prevented from crossing border. The officers hand over [...]
FSB fears breaching border with Georgia by crowd fleeing mobilization, sends armored vehicle, troops
The war mobilization announced by Vladimir Putin has worsened the situation on the Russian-Georgian border to such an extent that the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB), which is responsible for border control, sent Monday an armored personnel carrier there to prevent a forceful breach of the border at Larsi by the crowd - [...]
Russian-backed enclave plans referendum about naming itself after medieval tribe
Leonid Tibilov, the de facto President of the enclave Republic of South Ossetia. (RES.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Russian-backed separatists who have ruled a region of Georgia since the early 1990s plan to name their self-declared republic after a nomadic tribe that conquered swaths of Europe and North Africa in the Middle Ages. If the 50,000 population approves […]
Militants release all hostages in Yerevan, but stand-off continues
(Armenpress.) TBILISI, DFWatch–A group of up to 25 armed militants occupying a police building in Yerevan released all their hostages Saturday but refused to surrender, demanding the president’s resignation and the formation of an interim government. […]
Azerbaijani Insiders Benefited from Currency Collapse
(OCCRP) by Dave Bloss, Miranda Patrucic, Khadija Ismayilova and OCCRP Azerbaijan 06 June 2016 The First Family of Azerbaijan and a close business partner made a series of financial transactions in the days and weeks before a crippling 2015 devaluation of the national currency that eventually earned them at least 100 million manat (US$ 64 million) in just two deals while additionally protecting their banks and companies. […]
Azeri activist tortured, humiliated for drawign graffiti on Haydar Alyev’s statue
Photo: Graffiti at the Alyev’s statue were erased and round-the-clock police put on duty at the monument. (Meydan.tv) Tbilisi, DFWatch – On evening of May 10 two activists disappeared in Baku, Meydan TV reported. Then on May 12, the Khatai District Court placed Bayram Mammadov and Qiyas Ibrahimov under a four-month arrest for drug-related charges. […]
Six Russian soldiers die, 16 injured in South Ossetia
Sputnik Ossetia publishes photo provided by the witness. Tbilisi, DFWatch – Six Russian military personnel were killed and further sixteen suffered injuries in a bus accident in South Ossetia, Sputnik Ossetia reported. The accident happened today near the village of Kanchaeti on the […]
The Azerbaijan Crackdown: An Update
Abbas Atillay (RFE/RL) by OCCRP Soon, it will have been a year since reporters for OCCRP and other organizations took a long, hard look at what is going on inside Azerbaijan’s prison system. Last June, journalists from the US joined colleagues from the Caucasus region and eastern […]
Abkhazia’s parliament: MP’s car explosion was an ‘act of terrorism’
Sputnik Abkhazia TBILISI, DFWatch–The opposition suggests that the explosion could be connected to the government’s plans to allow foreign nationals to buy property in Abkhazia, while major political actors call for cross-political solidarity. Members of Abkhazia’s de facto parliament, […]
Putin gives yellow light to South Ossetian unification project
Leonid Tibilov, de facto president meets with Vladimir Putin in Moscow, March 31, 2016. ‘Let’s wait for the moment when “the stars align”, so we can begin to implement the referendum’s results,’ Tibilov was quoted by TASS news agency (http://presidentruo.org/ photo). TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia accuses Russia of instrumental use of a South Ossetian initiative to conduct a referendum on joining Russia, while Russia continues sending mixed signals to the Tskhinvali leadership. South Ossetian hopes for unification with the Russian Federation […]
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: Georgia may offer to host negotiations
Vakhtang Kapanadze. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia is considering offering Azerbaijan and Armenia to negotiate about the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, where at least 33 people have died and more than 200 have been injured during the last few days, according to the United Nations. […]
One more human rights activist released from Azerbaijan prison
(freeintigamaliyev.com) TBILISI, DFWatch–Azerbaijani authorities released from prison Intigam Aliyev, a lawyer and human rights activist, on March 28, as the court in Baku commuted his 7.5 years-long term to a suspended 5 year sentence, Radio Liberty Azerbaijan reported. […]
MP criticizes Georgia’s support for ‘anti-Armenian’ water resolution in CoE
Azerbaijan and Armenia are technically still at war over the region Nagorno-Karabakh. (Pirveli.) TBILISI, DFWatch–An ethnic Armenian member of the Georgian parliament criticized some of his colleagues on Wednesday for voting for a controversial Council of Europe resolution regarding access to water in Nagorno-Karabakh. Samvel Petrosyan, […]
Armenian democracy in freefall after fraudulent referendum
The same man voting three times in polling station No. 03/11 in Shengavit, Yerevan. Pictures by Bianca Bernardi for the Citizen Observer Initiative. Widespread electoral fraud allegations and the growing gap between the political élites and the society confirm worrying trends in Armenia’s democratic development. On Sunday, 6 December a nationwide constitutional referendum was held in Armenia. […]
Support and resistance for Svan language activism
Abandoned village of Guli (Gul) Becho (Bechwi) community (DFWatch) Mestia, DFWatch – Svan language activists explain why it’s necessary to stop the decline of the language amidst reluctance on behalf of the authorities and the Church. ‘A language is a dialect with an army and navy’, […]
‘Radicalisation’ obscures core issues faced by Pankisi inhabitants
Duisi, Pankisi (DFWatch) Duisi, DFWatch – Counterextremism efforts in the Pankisi Valley fall short as they fail to address root causes of radicalisation processes in the region. Following the reporting on Georgian citizens leaving the country to join the ranks of foreign fighters in the civil war in Syria and Iraq, the question of religious radicalisation in the Pankisi Valley has become one of the most debated security issues in Georgia. […]
North Caucasus Watch (19 September – 1 October 2015)
Daghestan Bodies of five residents of Suleyman-Stalskiy district were found in local forests by power agents. According to the official information, the men had their hands tied and were killed by the insurgents as a retaliation for cooperating with the police. Authorities also announced that a […]
North Caucasus Watch (5–18 September 2015)
DFWatch (5–18 September 2015) Daghestan On September 13 local elections took place in the republic. The Party of Russia’s Veterans earned 69% of votes in the city of Buynaksk, while United Russia earned 66% […]
North Caucasus Watch (29 August–4 September 2015)
DFWatch (29 August–4 September 2015) Daghestan Two suspected militants were killed in Magaramkent district of Daghestan on August 29. According to the law enforcement officials, […]
North Caucasus Watch (22–28 August 2015)
DFWatch (22–28 August 2015) Daghestan Former mayor of Makhachkala, Said Amirov, was sentenced to life by a court in Rostov-on-Don on 27 August. His relative Yusup Dzhaparov was sentenced to 18 years in penal colony. […]
North Caucasus Watch (15–21 August 2015)
DFWatch (15–21 August 2015) Dagestan According to National Antiterrorist Committee of Russia, the leader of the Vilayyat Daghestan Mountainous Sector of the Caucasian Emirate, Gadzhi Abdullayev (known as Abu Dujana), was killed in course of the […]
North Caucasus Watch (8–14 August 2015)
DFWatch (8–14 August 2015) Daghestan According to the Russian Investigative Committee, leader of the Caucasian Emirate, Magomed Suleymanov (A.K.A. Abu Usman Gimrinskiy), […]
North Caucasus Watch 1–7 August 2015
DFWatch – (1–7 August 2015) Daghestan Two men were killed by security forces in Suleyman Stalskiy region in the south of Daghestan on 6 August. […]
North Caucasus Watch 25–31 July 2015
DFWatch – 25-31 July, 2015 Daghestan The head of the Daghestani branch of the Russian Pension Fund Sagid Murtazaliyev is suspected of involvement in assassinations and financing terrorism. […]
North Caucasus Watch 18–24 July 2015
DFWatch (18–24 July 2015) Daghestan A policeman and a suspected militant were killed in a shootout in the Tabasaran district on 19 July. A group of unidentified people opened fire to a group of policemen in the forest near the village of Akka. […]
North Caucasus Review 23–30 June 2015
DFWatch (23–30 June 2015) Daghestan President Ramazan Abdulatipov expressed his ‘complete loss of confidence’ in the acting mayor of Makhachkala Magomed Suleymanov. According to Abdulatipov, 148 houses are being built in the capital without proper […]
Chechen leader proposes building road and railway to Georgia
Verkhny Lars, the only functioning border crossing between Georgia and Russia. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov proposes building a new railway as well as a new road connecting the Russian republic with Georgia, which still has tense relations with Russia. Kadyrov’s provocative plan was launched at a press conference in Grozny. […]
South Ossetia parliament to discuss joining Russia
Tskhinvali, the capital of the Georgian breakaway region South Ossetia. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The de facto parliament in South Ossetia plans to start discussing the issue of joining Russia. It was the parliament’s speaker who said this on Monday, as quoted by Itar-Tass. “We do not renounce our slogans, there will be no two-pronged […]
Georgian, Turkish and Azerbaijani presidents meet in Tbilisi
Turkey’s President Abdullah Gül (left) and Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The presidents of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey met in Tbilisi on Tuesday and celebrated the cooperation between their countries. The summit was initiated by the Turkish president and the main topic was three joint projects. Two of them are already […]
Georgia, Turkey, Azerbaijan foreign ministers meet
The foreign affairs ministers of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey, respectively: Maia Panjikidze (left), Elmar Mammadyarov, and Ahmet Davutoglu. (Georgian MFA.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The foreign ministers of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey met on Wednesday in Azerbaijan’s second largest city Ganja to discuss regional cooperation. Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze said they talked about the 2013-15 action plan, which […]
Naturalized Chechen refugee not allowed to leave Georgia
Public Defender Ucha Nanuashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The Public Defender’s Office in Georgia calls on the Interior Ministry to react to the violation of the rights of a Georgian citizen who last month was prohibited three times from leaving Georgia. Saikhan Muzayev complained to the office on January 20 […]
Russia’s South Ossetia fences now stretch 35 km
The barbed wire bundles in Dvani. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The length of barbed wire and fences along the delineation line with the breakaway region South Ossetia is now 35 kilometers. Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze says 65 Georgian families have been affected as result of the installation of barbed wire […]
NATO and EU concerned about Russian borderization
Anders Fogh Rasmussen. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and EU’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton express concern about the recent actions by Russian soldiers who are expanding the de facto border around the breakaway region South Ossetia and installing […]
Russia was asked about Georgian occupation at PACE
Member of parliament Tina Khidasheli. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Russia avoided questions about the occupation of Georgian territory during a debate of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. Georgia’s delegation was not given an opportunity to ask questions. Speaker for the Russian […]
Saakashvili warns against Russian moves to take lands in west
President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–President Mikheil Saakashvili claims Russia is planning to put the Baku-Supsa pipeline, Ganmukhuri and other territories in the Samegerelo region behind barbed wire. Saakashvili said Tuesday that he believes the moving of barbed wires and fences […]
EUMM concerned about South Ossetia borderization
The razor wire block in Dvani. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The EU Monitoring Mission to Georgia Tuesday expressed concern about the installation of barbed wire by Russian soldiers in the villages Dvani and Ditsi at the border line around the breakaway region South Ossetia. Toivo Klaar, the new head of EUMM, […]
Georgian journalists rally at border village
Georgian journalists rallied against Russian occupation Saturday. (Maestro.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgian journalists Saturday rallied in Dvani against the newly restarted work by Russian soldiers to reinforce a de facto border with the breakaway region South Ossetia. Locals say the Russian soldiers are going to move the razor wire perimeter 50 […]
Ivanishvili: border reinforcement has to do with Olympics
Bidzina Ivanishvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili says the moving of the border line near the villages Ditsi and Dvani is connected to security around the upcoming Sochi Winter Olympics. His comments were made on Wednesday while meeting economic analysts at his business […]
Russia asks Georgia to extradite suspect in diplomat’s murder
TBILISI, DFWatch–A Russian citizen from Chechnya who was recently detained for a shooting in Batumi is a suspect in the murder of a Russian diplomat in Abkhazia. The information comes from the de facto General Prosecutor of Abkhazia. According to Russian media, the […]
Georgia opens new customs facility on border with Russia
(Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The customs checkpoint at Kazbegi, on the border between Russia and Georgia, was opened on Tuesday after a year of construction work. Finance Minister Nodar Khaduri told journalists that new checkpoint help boost Georgia’s export. […]
New oil refinery planned on Georgia’s Black Sea coast
Prime Minister of Georgia, Bidzina Ivanishvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–A new oil refinery will be constructed on the Black Sea coast with Azerbaijani money, according to Georgia’s Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili. Mr Ivanishvili was speaking during a visit to Riga, where he attended Riga Conference 2013. Government […]
Georgia denies report that it agreed to open Abkhazia railway
The Georgian PM’s special representative Zurab Abashidze says if the railway through Abkhazia is to be opened it must happen based on the principle of Georgia’s territorial integrity. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The Georgian government denies information from Armenia’s Secretary of National Security Council Artur Baghdasaryan that Georgia has agreed to open the railway through Abkhazia. Baghdasaryan said Georgia, Russia and Abkhazia had all […]