Persoverzicht Tsjetsjenië - mei 2013

• 2013-06-03
• Europa in de wereld

6 mei 2013

Kadyrov says it is safer in Chechnya than in England : Media provide reactions by representatives of North Caucasus regions to the British Foreign Office's call on British nationals to avoid visiting North Caucasus republics and some areas of the Stavropol territory over terrorist threats. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov wrote on his Twitter account that "it is safer in Chechnya than in England." (ii) Two school boys were killed in an explosion outside a shop in Makhachkala (capital of Dagestan) on 1 May. In a separate incident in Dagestan, three police officers were killed and two others were wounded in an attack last Tuesday. ( Kommersant, RIAN )

7 mei 2013

Kadyrov says Boston bombing suspects have nothing to do with Chechnya : Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov branded as "shaitans" the Tsarnaev brothers, who are suspected of carrying out the deadly blasts at the Boston Marathon on 15 April, and added that "they have nothing to do with Chechnya." Media continue to report on new evidence in the Boston bombing case and a controversy around burial of the body of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed in a shootout with police. ( Gazeta.ru, MK; Ekho Moskvy )

8 mei 2013

Defendant in Budanov murder case sentenced to 15 years in jail : The Moscow City Court on Tuesday sentenced to 15 years imprisonment Chechen native Yusup Temerkhanov, who has been found guilty by a jury of killing former army colonel Yury Budanov in Moscow in 2011. However, Kommersant notes that the personality of the suspected killer and the motives behind the crime are not clear enough. ( Gazeta.ru, Kommersant, RG )

New tactics in the fight against militants in Dagestan?: Kommersant reports that three houses have been blown up in the Dagestani town of Buinaksk by law enforcement officers so that to defuse bombs found in the houses. The daily does not rule out that law enforcement agencies are using new tactics in the fight against militants in Dagestan. ( Kommersant )

14 mei 2013

Militant leader on trial in Rostov-on-Don : A trial opened in the North Caucasus District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don of militant leader Ali Taziyev (aka 'Magas'), who is accused of terrorism related crimes, including a suicide bombing outside a police department in Nazran (Ingushetia) in 2009 in which 21 people were killed and more than 280 wounded and an assassination attempt on Ingush leader Yunus-Bek Yevkurov. 'Magas' is considered a close associate to North Caucasus militant leader Doku Umarov. ( Gazeta.ru, Kommersant, RG )

15 mei 2013

Spy scandal between Russia and US : Media report broadly on the brief detention by the FSB of an alleged CIA agent Ryan C. Fogle, who has been working as a Third Secretary of the US Embassy in Moscow. Reportedly, he was detained while trying to recruit a Russian intelligence officer. Fogle was declared persona non grata and ordered to leave the country. US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul is summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday. Kommersant suggests that in the wake of the deadly blasts at the Boston Marathon carried out by the ethnic Chechen brothers, Fogle was trying to recruit an FSB officer in charge of the fight against terrorism in the North Caucasus. The suggestion was actually confirmed by the Russian Foreign Ministry which said in a statement that "at a time when our countries' Presidents have reaffirmed the willingness to expand bilateral interaction in the fight against international terrorism, such provocative Cold War-style actions do not contribute to building mutual confidence." In the view of head of the Duma's International Affairs Committee Alexei Pushkov, the FSB operation was not a political action and the incident is unlikely to stir up anti-Americanism. Gazeta.ru cites publications in the American media, which noted that the incident came against the background of diplomatic efforts to settle the Syria crisis. ( Gazeta.ru, Kommersant, MK, MT, Novye Izvestia, RG, Vedomosti )

21 mei 2013

At least four killed in Dagestan blasts; terrorist attack prevented in Moscow : (i) At least four people were killed and more than 40 were wounded in twin blasts outside the building of the Federal Court Bailiffs Service's department in Makhachkala (capital of Dagestan) on Monday. A second bomb was set off after police arrived at the scene of the first blast. Kommersant notes that the Federal Court Bailiffs Service's department is headed by Dalgat Amirov, the son of Makhachkala mayor Said Amirov, and does not rule out that the bombing may have political consequences. Meanwhile, two suspected militants were killed and another one was detained by police in the town of Orekhovo-Zuyevo (Moscow region). According to law enforcement officials, the militants killed had been planning a terror attack in Moscow. Reportedly, the militants had been trained in Pakistan. President Vladimir Putin has been informed of the operation in Orekhovo-Zuyevo. In Kommersant's view, the operation might be a response by law enforcement officers to yesterday's blasts in Makhachkala. (ii) A police officer has been detained in Dagestan on suspicion of aiding militants. (iii) Two suspected militants were killed early on Tuesday in Ingushetia. (iv) Gazeta.ru refers to a New York Times article, which reported about "Dagestan's bitter shadow war fought by 'many Tsarnaevs'". ( Gazeta.ru, Izvestia, Kommersant, MK, RG )

22 mei 2013

Militants intensify activities : (i) A man and a woman are suspected of involvement in the 20 May twin blasts in Makhachkala (Dagestan) which killed four people and injured more than 50, Dagestan's Interior Minister said Tuesday. Meanwhile, one more car bomb has been defused in Makhachkala. In a separate operation in Ingushetia, two militants, including a close associate to North Caucasus militant leader Doku Umarov, have been killed. (ii) A Moscow court has sanctioned the arrest of a native of Bashkortostan Robert Amerkhanov, who is suspected of plotting a terror attack in Moscow. Amerkhanov was detained by the FSB in an operation in Orekhovo-Zuyevo (Moscow region). Some experts link the recent intensification of militant activities to arbitrariness of law enforcement officers, corruption and nepotism, as well as foreign special services' activities (Novye Izvestia). ( Gazeta.ru, Kommersant, MT, NG, Novye Izvestia, RG; Ekho Moskvy )

23 mei 2013

Militant leader killed in Dagestan : Leader of the Gubden terrorist group Magomed Abusaidov was killed in an operation late on Tuesday in Dagestan's Karabudakhkent district. The National Antiterrorism Committee said Abusaidov had been involved in attacks on police and other crimes. Former Russian Interior Minister Anatoly Kulikov is quoted as saying that radical Islamism is "the most real threat to Russia." ( Interfax, Kommersant )

24 mei 2013

Supporter of Chechen separatists killed in Turkey : Kommersant reports on the murder in Ankara of businessman of Chechen origin Medet Unlu and writes that Unlu was a supporter of Chechen separatists and associate to Chechen separatist emissary Akhmed Zakayev. The daily remarks that representatives of Chechen diaspora in Turkey do not rule out the Russian special services' involvement in the killing. At the same time, a conflict with business partners is also mentioned among possible theories behind the crime. ( Kommersant, RIAN )

27 mei 2013

Russia, US to strengthen law enforcement cooperation : (i) Commenting on Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev's visit to the US, media cite plans to enhance cooperation between Russian and US law enforcement agencies. Izvestia writes that special attention during Kolokoltsev's visit was paid to the Russian experience in the fight against terrorism in the North Caucasus. In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing, the FBI will provide the Russian side with access to some FBI data. (ii) Kommersant reports that the FSB has informed the German special services of a planned terrorist attack in Berlin during events related to the Champions League final. A source in the Russian special services told the daily that after the Boston Marathon bombing, anti-terrorism agencies from Russia and Western nations decided to exchange information. ( Izvestia, Kommersant, MT )

Female suicide bomber targets police in Dagestan : A female suicide bomber blew herself up on Saturday near the police headquarters in Makhachkala killing one and injuring at least 14 other people. The bomber has been identified as Madina Aliyeva, the widow of two militants killed by security forces. Saturday's bombing was the second major terror attack in Dagestan within a week. Acting Dagestani head Ramazan Abdulatipov linked terrorist attacks in the republic to corruption of the local authorities. (ii) The Dagestan Supreme Court has sentenced to long prison terms four members of an illegal armed group led by Ilyas Sharipov (the brother of Mariam Sharipova who blew herself up at Moscow metro's Lubyanka station in March 2010) on charges of extorting money to finance illegal armed groups. ( Kommersant, MK, MT, NG, Novaya Gazeta, Novye Izvestia, RG )

29 mei 2013

Attack on border guards in Dagestan : Kommersant reports on a bomb attack on a bus carrying border guards in the Dagestani town of Derbent on Tuesday. No casualties were reported. The daily says the incident has become the third major attack by militants in the past two weeks in Dagestan. ( Kommersant )

31 mei 2013

Ministry limits number conscripts from Caucasus : According to Nezavisimaya Gazeta, the Ministry of Defence is limiting number of conscripts from the Caucasus. The statement by the Press-Service of the Southern Federal District says that only 2000 conscripts will be drafted from all North Caucasian republics this year. Experts say that this number is very small. The newspaper quotes Dagestan's military commissar who said that only this sprint Dagestan could possibly provide 25-30 thousand of conscripts. ( Nezavisimaya Gazeta )

The most expensive games ever?: Russia has unveiled the Sochi 2014 Olympic medal set in St. Petersburg, opting for a two-colour design evoking the jagged Caucasus mountain range. Meanwhile, opposition figure Boris Nemtsov presented report called "Winter Olympics in Tropics" which compares spending in Sochi with other Olympic games. According to this report, Sochi will cost over 50 billion dollars, which is more then combined cost of all winter Olympic games facilities constructed before. ( Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, The Moscow times )