Dmitrii Kozak with President Putin in May Speaking at a 23 September conference attended by North Caucasus leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin wholeheartedly endorsed proposals by his envoy to the Southern Federal District, Dmitrii Kozak, to curtail the powers of federation subject heads whose fiefdoms are heavily dependent on the federal budget to finance their budget spending. Days earlier, an article criticizing Kozak's performance during the 12 months since his appointment was published in a south Russian newspaper and immediately reprinted by several national dailies. It is not clear who sought to compromise Kozak and why. Kozak told journalists unequivocally on 23 September that he has no intention of running for president in 2008 when Putin's second term expires.
Many Russians have found the play difficult Muscovites this week flocked to watch “September.doc,” an abrasive play inspired by the Beslan hostage tragedy of September 2004. The play, which featured prominently in this week’s New Drama Festival, is based on messages sampled from Russian Internet chat sites in the wake of the massacre. Its director, Mikhail Ugarov, says his aim is to articulate the unspoken feelings that the war in Chechnya is breeding among ordinary Russians.
29 September 2005 -- Russian Deputy Prosecutor-General Nikolai Shepel said today there are no "procedural reasons" to replace prosecutors in the trial of Nurpashi Kulaev, the only living suspect involved in the 2004 Beslan hostage crisis.
29 September 2005 -- Authorities in Russia's southern Republic of Daghestan said today that attackers fired on the vehicle of a senior regional official and, in a separate incident, on a police patrol car.
28 September 2005 -- The parliament of the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic approved on 28 September the candidacy of Arsen Kanokov as the republic's new president, newsru.com and regnum.ru reported.
28 September 2005 -- Police in Russia's southern republic of Daghestan say they have detained a suspected rebel they identified as Tagir Dadaev.
28 September 2005 -- A witness in the trial over the Beslan school siege in North Ossetia said a Russian armored vehicle was the first to open fire in a battle that claimed the lives of many hostages.
27 September 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has nominated a new governor for the restive southern province of Kabardino-Balkaria, west of Chechnya.
Russian soldiers in Chechnya (file photo) 26 September 2005 -- Nine Russian soldiers are reported to have been killed and 14 wounded in the latest fighting in Chechnya.
24 September 2005 -- The Russian republic of Daghestan is reportedly without gas today after an attack on a gas pipeline.
23 September 2005 -- A pro-Moscow Chechen official today said that six Russian soldiers were killed and 11 wounded in Chechnya in the past 24 hours.
Nalchik, Russia; 23 September 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Reports from the Russian southern republic of Kabardino-Balkaria say clashes erupted today in the regional capital Nalchik between local students and policemen coming from Chechnya.
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