North Caucasus - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Latest North Caucasus News

WATCH: Deadly blasts hit Russia's Daghestan

Several Dead In Daghestan Bombings

Two car bombs have exploded with deadly effect in front of the Court Bailiffs' Directorate in Makhachkala, the capital of Russia's North Caucasus republic of Daghestan. More

A combo photo shows Tamerlan (left) and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

Report: Boston Bombings Suspect Wrote Message On Boat

A CBS News report says Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev wrote a handwritten message describing the attacks as retribution for U.S. wars in Muslim countries. More

Chechnen leader Ramzan Kadyrov (left) with French actor Gerard Depardieu

Depardieu To Shoot Films In Chechnya

French actor Gerard Depardieu plans to make two movies in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Chechnya. More

Chechen rebels like Doku Umarov (center in low-quality still from Internet video) have frequently used YouTube to spread their message beyond Russia's borders.

Kadyrov 'Not Against' YouTube Unblock

The leader of Russia's North Caucasus republic of Chechnya says he is not against unblocking the access to YouTube in his republic, according to the republican government website. More

Caucasus insurgent Ali Taziyev, an ethnic Ingush also known as Magas, has been charged with involvement in 24 terrorism-related incidents.

Caucasus Insurgent's Trial Begins

The trial has begun of one of the top lieutenants of Doku Umarov, the Islamic insurgency leader in Russia's North Caucasus. More

More North Caucasus News

Latest Blog Posts

Hurley Hangs With Kadyrov In Grozny

For months now, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has been treating his numerous social media followers to a blow-by-blow account of his life. Besides posting posting pictures of mundane activities such as a trip to the dentist's, Kadyrov has used the Instagram photo-sharing service to display images of him hanging out in a bathrobe with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and chatting with French actor and tax exile Gerard Depardieu. Now he has added another luminary to his collection of pix. More

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (left) chairs a meeting of the Government Commission on Social and Economic Development of the North Caucasian Federal District in Grozny in June 2012, flanked by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, Ingushetia head Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, and Daghestan

Two North Caucasus Republics Set Election Precedent

In line with a recent amendment to last year's law reintroducing direct elections for the heads of Russia's 83 federation subjects, the Daghestani and Ingushetian parliaments have voted overwhelmingly for an alternative option. Will others follow suit? More

Blog Archive

Features & Commentary

Dzokhar (left) and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, suspected of carrying out the Boston Marathon bombings, in a handout photo released through the FBI website days after the April 15 attack.

FBI Probes Exiled Chechen Rebel For Link To Bombing Suspect

The FBI has been investigating a former Chechen rebel fighter over his association with one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

The construction of facilities for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, such as Olympic Stadium, has been dogged by huge cost overruns. (file photo)

Disgraced Former Russian Olympics Official Says He Was Poisoned

Akhmed Bilalov, a former deputy head of Russia’s Olympic Committee, says he has been poisoned with mercury. Bilalov’s claim comes just weeks after he was fired by President Vladimir Putin over huge cost overruns in the construction of a ski jump for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The allegations add to the long list of controversies surrounding the upcoming Sochi Olympics.

Candles are lit for those who died in the Boston Marathon bombings and the subsequent police manhunt at a memorial on Boylston Street in Boston on April 21.

Following Boston Attacks, Uptick In Islamophobia, Gestures Of Tolerance

Americans are struggling to make sense of what occurred in Boston on April 15 and how two young ethnic Chechen immigrants might have become motivated to kill. The result has been an uptick in Islamophobic rhetoric from some corners, but gestures of tolerance from others.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing, is shown after he was found hiding in a boat in a Boston suburb on April 19.

A Week After Arrest, More Unknowns Than Knowns In Boston Bombing Case

It's been a week since police suspected Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev following a gunbattle that led to the death of his older brother and fellow suspect, Tamerlan. Evidence suggests the ethnic Chechen immigrants may have been independent radicals motivated by resentment of the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

There is a lot of sympathy for the Tsarnaev brothers on the streets of Makhachkala, Daghestan (file photo).

Many In North Caucasus Believe Boston Bombing Suspects Are Innocent

North Caucasus residents appear to have strong misgivings about the alleged involvement of brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the Boston Marathon bombings. Despite evidence provided by U.S. investigators, many in the Russian region believe the two were set up by U.S. authorities.

Patimat Suleimanova looks at photos from a family album at her house in Makhachkala on April 22. "He taught his own parents, his sisters, and his brother how to pray," she says of her nephew, Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

Mystery Swirls Around Boston Bombing Suspect's Trip To Daghestan

As more details emerge about the backgrounds of the two Boston Marathon bombing suspects, questions are being focused on Tamerlan Tsarnaev and the six months he spent last year in restive southern Russia. Could the experience have solidified his radicalism? RFE/RL correspondent Tom Balmforth is in Makhachkala, the Daghestani capital, and spoke to Tsarnaev’s aunt, Patimat Suleimanova, about her nephew.

Interview: North Caucasus Insurgency Was Possible Influence On Boston Suspects

Investigators are looking into possible ties between Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Chechen brothers suspected of staging the Boston marathon, and Islamist insurgents in the North Caucasus. The region’s biggest militant group, the Caucasus Emirate has denied involvement. But Ivan Sukhov, a respected North Caucasus expert, says the suspects nonetheless may have been influenced by Islamic rebels.

Anzon Tsarnaev, the father of brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, suspects implicated in the Boston Marathon bombings, in Makhachkala, Daghestan.

Interview: Father Of Boston Bombing Suspects Says Situation Is 'Clear Setup'

As media outlets scramble to understand more about the suspected Boston Marathon bombers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, many relatives linked to the family in Makhachkala, Daghestan, are declining to talk to journalists.Nonetheless, the men's father, Anzor Tsarnaev, did speak from an undisclosed location via telephone to RFE/RL’s Tom Balmforth and the Associated Press in Makhachkala on April 21.

Kyrgyz Former Neighbors Talk About Tsarnaevs, North Caucasus Ties

Following the death of one of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings and the capture of the other, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service visited the ethnic Chechen family's former hometown to unravel their peripatetic background.

A man in Moscow looks at a computer screen displaying an undated picture of the 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev posted on his page on vKontakte, a Russian social-media site, on April 19.

Interview: More About Tsarnaev Brothers And Their Ancestral Homeland

What do we know about the Tsarnaev brothers -- the ethnic Chechens who are suspected of perpetrating the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15 that killed three people and injured 170 others -- and their ancestral homeland? RFE/RL Central Newsroom Director Jeremy Bransten sat down with Aslan Doukaev, director of RFE/RL’s North Caucasus Service, for some insight.

RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service reports the news in one of the most violent and dangerous regions in the world where media freedom and journalists remain under severe threat.