News

In the city of Telavi in the Kakheti region, civil activists have spoiled ballots in protest against the deprivation of the town of its self-government status. The activists wrote a word "sheep" on the ballots.

An Azerbaijani serviceman has died today from the wounds sustained as a result of shelling by Armenia, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MoD) has reported.

Today, Alexei Navalny, immediately after his release from custody, has flown to Astrakhan to speak to his supporters at a rally. He said that being the president, he would cut military spending, direct funds to the medicine and collect foreign debts to Russia.

The "Leaders' Council", consisting of the heads of 16 non-parliamentary oppositional parties of Georgia, has announced a complete distrust in the outcomes of the elections and treats them as illegitimate.

Kakha Kaladze, a former Georgia's Energy Minister and football star, has been elected Tbilisi Mayor; four parties were elected to the City Council (Sakrebulo); the majority belongs to the ruling "Georgian Dream" Party, the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia has informed.

The spouses Akhmed and Patimat from Dagestan have asked the authorities to help to return their grandson from Iraq; they recognized the boy in a video from a Baghdad orphanage.

On October 21, advocate Elchin Sadygov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that at Baku SIZO-1 (pre-trial prison), some investigative actions had been carried out on the case of the journalist Afghan Mukhtarly.

The cities of Marneuli and Kutaisi, and the Tbilisi Districts of Vake and Nadzaladevi became record holders in the number of complaints about violations at voting. Overall, the elections passed with the voter turnout of 45.64%, the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia has reported.

Seven women, who have returned from Syria to Grozny, will be offered to surrender, thus, avoiding the criminal liability for participating in illegal armed formations (IAFs), the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has reported.

They arrived from the Syria warfare zone in Grozny, where they were met by their relatives.

Residents of the village of Vank, Martakert District, have held a mourning rally in memory of Levon Airapetyan and attended a memorial service at the Gandzasar Monastery.

The Interpol system cannot be used to prosecute oppositionists abroad. This was stated by Bernd Fabricius, a Special Rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), in his comment on the arrest of the Azerbaijani journalist Fikret Guseinli in Ukraine.

On October 20, two soldiers of the Defence Army got fatal wounds because of improper handling of weapons, reported the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Armenian authorities did not try to seek the release of businessman Levon Airapetyan because of fear to worsen relations with Russia. Political analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe the Levon Airapetyan's death in a Mordovian penal colony will also not affect the Armenia-Russia relations.

The detention of the father of a regiment commander from the National Guard of Russia (aka as "Natsgvardia") in Chechnya, dismissed for withholding money from his subordinates' salaries, may be a way to put pressure on the escapee. This was stated by a family friend.

In Stepanakert, students held a march in memory of philanthropist Levon Airapetyan. Today, a mourning rally is planned to be held in the village of Vank, where Levon Airapetyan was born, and the Gandzasar Monastery will hold a memorial service in his memory, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

Historians, sociologists, geographers, economists, and ethnographers have not yet determined where the borders of the Caucasus pass. The United States and the EU politically distinguish the Caucasus, including also as a territory for the transit of energy resources from Central Asia. This was noted by participants of a seminar held at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (known as MGIMO).

The NGO "Civic Assistance Committee" cannot be a defendant in the claim for protecting business reputation filed after the Svetlana Gannushkina's post in Facebook, state lawyers of the NGO. They filed an appeal against the decision pronounced by the Shatoi District Court of Chechnya.

The regional party's branch has submitted an application to the Central Election Commission (CEC) of the Karachay-Cherkessian Republic (KChR) to register its initiative group for holding a referendum on direct election of the head of the republic.

Today, the burial service for Armenian philanthropist Levon Airapetyan, who died in a Mordovian penal colony, has been held in the Cathedral of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Moscow.