http://www.rferl.org/archive/Caucasus_Report/latest/963/963.html Written and edited by analyst Liz Fuller, "The Caucasus" blog aims, to borrow a metaphor from Tom de Waal, to act as a smoke-detector, focusing attention on potential conflict situations and crises throughout the region. http://www.rferl.org/img/rssLogo.gif http://www.rferl.org/archive/Caucasus_Report/latest/963/963.html en-US Copyright 2009 - RFE/RL, Inc. 60 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:23:01 +0000 Pangea CMS – RFE/RL The Central Election Commission of the breakaway Republic of Abkhazia has registered five candidates who applied to run in the presidential election on December 12. A sixth would-be candidate, Djamalik Ayba, withdrew his application before the November 2 deadline. http://www.rferl.org/content/Five_Presidential_Candidates_Registered_In_Abkhazia/1872025.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Five_Presidential_Candidates_Registered_In_Abkhazia/1872025.html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:15:40 +0000 Caucasus Report http://www.rferl.org/content/Five_Presidential_Candidates_Registered_In_Abkhazia/1872025.html#relatedInfoContainer November 6 is the second anniversary of a brutal police crackdown in Tbilisi on demonstrators who had for days picketed the parliament building to demand early parliamentary elections and the release of persons they considered political prisoners. Georgian media have recently been discussing the possibility that the opposition will launch a new wave of protests on November 7 to demand President Mikheil Saakashvili's resignation. But with the opposition divided over tactics and strategy, the ... http://www.rferl.org/content/Georgian_Opposition_Gears_Up_For_New_Protests/1871141.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Georgian_Opposition_Gears_Up_For_New_Protests/1871141.html Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:27:23 +0000 Caucasus Report http://www.rferl.org/content/Georgian_Opposition_Gears_Up_For_New_Protests/1871141.html#relatedInfoContainer Testifying in court in the ongoing trial of military officers accused of plotting to overthrow the Georgian leadership, the commander of Georgia's land forces could not confirm that two of the charged officers were pursuing any broader political objective. Nor could he say positively that three other men identified as the masterminds of the alleged coup were present at the Mukhrovani military base on the crucial morning of May 5. http://www.rferl.org/content/Commanders_Testimony_Fails_To_Substantiate_Mukhrovani_Coup_Allegations/1869340.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Commanders_Testimony_Fails_To_Substantiate_Mukhrovani_Coup_Allegations/1869340.html Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:38:27 +0000 Caucasus Report http://www.rferl.org/content/Commanders_Testimony_Fails_To_Substantiate_Mukhrovani_Coup_Allegations/1869340.html#relatedInfoContainer Official statistics suggest that after seven consecutive months of negative economic growth, the Armenian economy has begun to recover. But some prominent former officials are skeptical. http://www.rferl.org/content/Has_Armenias_Economy_Bottomed_Out/1869325.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Has_Armenias_Economy_Bottomed_Out/1869325.html Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:33:37 +0000 Caucasus Report http://www.rferl.org/content/Has_Armenias_Economy_Bottomed_Out/1869325.html#relatedInfoContainer Over the past year, Chechen Republic head Ramzan Kadyrov has repeatedly said he would welcome the return to Chechnya from London of Akhmed Zakayev, who heads the Chechen Republic Ichkeria (CHRI) leadership in exile. But last week, Kadyrov abruptly changed tack, branding Zakayev a liar and a hypocrite and accusing him of misrepresenting the present situation in Chechnya. http://www.rferl.org/content/Campaign_To_Discredit_Exiled_Chechen_Leader_Intensifies/1868401.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Campaign_To_Discredit_Exiled_Chechen_Leader_Intensifies/1868401.html Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:40:50 +0000 Caucasus Report http://www.rferl.org/content/Campaign_To_Discredit_Exiled_Chechen_Leader_Intensifies/1868401.html#relatedInfoContainer Even before the putative date (May 30) of next year's Georgian municipal elections has been confirmed, opposition parties are expressing concern that amendments to the election law proposed by the authorities will give President Mikheil Saakashvili's United National Movement (ENM) an unfair advantage over its opposition rivals. http://www.rferl.org/content/New_Bone_Of_Contention_Emerges_Between_Georgian_Opposition_Government/1865998.html http://www.rferl.org/content/New_Bone_Of_Contention_Emerges_Between_Georgian_Opposition_Government/1865998.html Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:28:19 +0000 Caucasus Report http://www.rferl.org/content/New_Bone_Of_Contention_Emerges_Between_Georgian_Opposition_Government/1865998.html#relatedInfoContainer A group of Balkars launched a series of public pickets in Moscow on October 26 to protest perceived discrimination at the hands of the predominantly Kabardian leadership of the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic (KBR) and the failure of the federal authorities to implement the 1991 law on the rehabilitation of ethnic groups deported by Stalin from the North Caucasus in 1943-1944. http://www.rferl.org/content/Karachais_Join_Balkar_Protest_In_Moscow/1865997.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Karachais_Join_Balkar_Protest_In_Moscow/1865997.html Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:22:46 +0000 Caucasus Report http://www.rferl.org/content/Karachais_Join_Balkar_Protest_In_Moscow/1865997.html#relatedInfoContainer Since being named president of Ingushetia a year ago, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov's greatest achievement over the past year is arguably that he is still alive, having made a remarkable recovery from injuries sustained in an assassination attempt in June. But he also secured financial aid from Moscow to kick-start the republic's moribund economy, and has made every effort to reach out to, and win the trust of, a population alienated and disgusted by corruption and inefficiency. http://www.rferl.org/content/Violence_Pervades_Ingushetian_Presidents_First_Year_In_Office/1865178.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Violence_Pervades_Ingushetian_Presidents_First_Year_In_Office/1865178.html Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:17:12 +0000 Caucasus Report http://www.rferl.org/content/Violence_Pervades_Ingushetian_Presidents_First_Year_In_Office/1865178.html#relatedInfoContainer Speaking on October 28 at a regional conference of the ruling United Russia party, Chechen Republic head Ramzan Kadyrov criticized as a hypocrite and a liar Akhmed Zakayev, who heads the Chechen Republic Ichkeria (ChRI) government in exile. http://www.rferl.org/content/Chechen_Republic_Head_Brands_Exiled_Minister_Liar/1863473.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Chechen_Republic_Head_Brands_Exiled_Minister_Liar/1863473.html Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:59:46 +0000 Caucasus Report http://www.rferl.org/content/Chechen_Republic_Head_Brands_Exiled_Minister_Liar/1863473.html#relatedInfoContainer Georgian parliamentarians met on October 28 with top national security officials to discuss the implications of recent Russian allegations that international terrorists affiliated with Al-Qaeda are transiting Georgia en route to join the ranks of the North Caucasus resistance. http://www.rferl.org/content/Georgia_Braces_For_Provocations_On_Border_With_Russia/1863467.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Georgia_Braces_For_Provocations_On_Border_With_Russia/1863467.html Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:55:58 +0000 Caucasus Report http://www.rferl.org/content/Georgia_Braces_For_Provocations_On_Border_With_Russia/1863467.html#relatedInfoContainer In the wake of last week's scandal surrounding the internet footage showing Patriarch Ilia II, the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, apparently denigrating Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, Ilia's press secretary Mikael Botkoveli has addressed a formal request to the Georgian Public Broadcaster to air a debate on the issue. http://www.rferl.org/content/Georgian_Public_Broadcaster_Unable_To_Grant_Patriarchate_Air_Time/1863460.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Georgian_Public_Broadcaster_Unable_To_Grant_Patriarchate_Air_Time/1863460.html Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:52:26 +0000 Caucasus Report http://www.rferl.org/content/Georgian_Public_Broadcaster_Unable_To_Grant_Patriarchate_Air_Time/1863460.html#relatedInfoContainer