Persoverzicht Tsjetsjenië - december 2012

• 2013-01-08
• Europa in de wereld

4 december 2012

Budanov murder suspect pleads not guilty: A Chechen native Yusup Temerkhanov, who has been accused of murdering former colonel Yury Budanov in June 2011, pleaded not guilty at the Moscow City Court on Monday. According to investigators, Budanov's killing was motivated by hatred and enmity against a social group. (Kommersant, Novye Izvestia, RG)

6 december 2012

North Caucasus militant leader's case sent to court: (i) The Prosecutor General's Office has sent to court a case against Ali Taziyev (aka 'Magas'), one of the leaders of the so-called 'Imarat Kavkaz' ('Caucasus Emirate') militant group and a close associate to North Caucasus militant leader Doku Umarov. (ii) A court in Odessa on Wednesday began hearings of the case of Russian national Adam Osmayev, who has been accused of preparing an attempt on the life of President Putin and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. (Kommersant)

12 december 2012

Three suspects in Dagestani religious figure's killing detained: The National Antiterrorist Committee announced that three suspected militants have been detained in Dagestan on suspicion of involvement in a suicide bomb attack in Dagestan in August in which Dagestani Muslim leader Sheikh Said-Afandi and several other people were killed. (ii) FSB head Alexander Bortnikov said on Tuesday that 92 terrorism-related crimes have been averted in Russia this year. (Gazeta.ru, ITAR-TASS, Kommersant)

14 december 2012

Federal centre to invest much less in North Caucasus: The Government approved a state programme for the North Caucasus Federal District up to 2025 worth RUR2.55 trillion. The federal Government's contribution to its implementation was reduced by 10 times from the originally envisaged figure. Around 90% of all the funding should come from extra-budgetary sources. The North Caucasus Federal District's GRP increased by 5 times since 2003 to RUR1 trillion. Minister of Regional Development Slyunyayev said that a transfer from stabilization to development would be done. Meanwhile, the socioeconomic conditions in the District remain far from being satisfactory. The unemployment rate is two times higher than the Russian average rate (13.7% versus 6.5%). (Kommersant, Vedomosti, NG)

18 december 2012

Russian Security Council chief on security threats: In an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev addresses threats to national security. He said inter alia that terrorism remains a serious threat to Russia and that North Caucasus militants have changed their tactics. (KP)

21 december 2012

Newspaper closed in Chechnya after Putin press conference: Press reports that after President Putin's press conference, authorities in Chechnya's Itum-Kalinsky district closed the newspaper 'Put Kadyrova' ('Kadyrov's Path') as the paper had not asked for permission to use the name of the late Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov. (MT)

26 december 2012

Kabardino-Balkaria lawmaker killed in Nalchik: Rector of Kabardino-Balkaria's State Agricultural University and leader of the United Russia faction in the republican legislature Boris Zherukov was killed in his office in Nalchik on Tuesday. Zherukov's professional activity is considered among theories behind the killing. Law enforcement officers have reportedly identified the suspected killers. Kommersant does not rule out that the suspects might have been involved in the killing earlier this month in Nalchik of presenter at the Kabardino-Balkaria State TV and Radio Company Kazbek Gekkiyev. (Gazeta.ru, Kommersant, NG)

27 december 2012

Deputy mufti killed in North Ossetia: (i) Deputy mufti of North Ossetia Ibragim Dudarov was shot dead last night near Vladikavkaz. (ii) Three militants, including a gang leader, were killed in an operation on Wednesday in Kabardino-Balkaria. (Gazeta.ru, Lenta.ru)

28 december 2012

Russian Orthodox Church forms new eparchy in North Caucasus:The Russian Orthodox Church has formed the Makhachkala Eparchy covering the North Caucasus regions of Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia. (MT, NG)