Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Russia

Four Russian Soldiers Killed In Chechnya

Six Russian solders were injured in the latest clashes in the breakaway republic (file photo) (AFP)

1 February 2006 -- Four Russian soldiers were killed and six injured in the latest clashes in Russia's breakaway republic of Chechnya.

TEXT SIZE - +

February 01, 2006

An official in the pro-Moscow administration -- who asked to not be identified -- told the French news agency AFP that the four were killed over a 24-hour period in different parts of the republic.

Firefights occur almost daily between the estimated 80,000 troops and a mixture of independence fighters and Islamic radicals.

Earlier today, the Supreme Court of Russia's southern republic of Ingushetia sentenced four Chechens to 17 years in prison over a deadly raid nearly two years ago.

The four men were found guilty last week of involvement in the June 2004 raid when a group of armed men led by Chechen separatist commander Shamil Basayev attacked police and government targets in Ingushetia. The raid left 79 people dead and another 104 injured.

(compiled from agency reports)

RFE/RL Russia Report

SUBSCRIBE For news and analysis on Russia by e-mail, subscribe to "RFE/RL Russia Report."

Syrians in the northwestern town of Kfar Nubul pose with a cartoon depicting Russia

Angry Over Syria, Arab World Threatens Russian Boycott

Groups in a number of Arab states, angry over the Russian-Chinese veto of a UN resolution aimed at stopping the violence in Syria, have called for a one-day boycott of Russian and Chinese goods on February 12. More

Alla Dzhioyeva attends a protest by her supporters in Tskhinvali on January 28.

South Ossetian Opposition Leader Hospitalized After Raid

Alla Dzhioyeva, the opposition candidate whose victory in a runoff ballot in November for de facto president of Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia was swiftly annulled by the republic's Supreme Court, was taken to a hospital after a raid by some 200 masked security personnel on her headquarters in Tskhinvali. More

Protesters gather behind a banner reading "Honest Elections" during a demonstration in Moscow on February 4.

How To Rig An Election

A whistle-blower in Samara explains how the authorities fixed the Duma elections in December -- and plan to do the same in the presidential vote in March. More