News

New Year celebrations in Northern Caucasus under reinforced security measures; armed attack on people in Derbent; presentation of final charges on Nemtsov's murder, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of December 28, 2015-January 3, 2016, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

During the week of December 28, 2015-January 3, 2016, at least fifteen persons fell victim to the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus. Of them, four persons were killed, and eleven others were wounded. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

In Armenia, Gevorg Safaryan, a member of the oppositional "Constituent Parliament", who has been earlier detained on suspicion of using violence against a public officer, is arrested for two months by the court decision. This was reported by Tigran Airapetyan, an advocate of Gevorg Safaryan.

In Sochi, staff members of schools and heads of the territorial public self-administrations have expressed their dissatisfaction with the fact that the Sochi Mayoralty instructed them to use their day-off to remove snow from the streets for free.

In Derbent, the observation deck of Naryn-Kala Fortress, where people were shelled on December 30, is open to the public. The city authorities explain that the security was enhanced at Naryn-Kala due to the holidays.

Khadija Ismayilova, Gilal Mamedov, and Parviz Gashimli, three journalists, who are serving their prison sentences in Azerbaijan, have reported that they expect from the authorities not only a pardon, but also rehabilitation. In their statements disseminated with the help of their advocates, they have repeatedly pleaded not guilty.

The condition of advocate Vyacheslav Merzakulov, who jumped out of a window of the Karachay-Cherkessian Republican Hospital, remains severe but stable. Physicians report on his suicide attempt. Relatives of the advocate deny the allegation and plan to file a complaint about the negligence of physicians.

On January 1, the body of Khizir Ezhiev, a lecturer of the Grozny State Technical University, whose kidnapping had been earlier reported by residents of Chechnya, was found in a forested area on the outskirts of the village of Roshni-Chu of the Urus-Martan District of Chechnya.

In Chechnya, investigating bodies are considering a criminal case opened against a local resident, accused of recruiting young people into the ranks of the militants for taking part in the warfare in Syria.

The health condition of the persons wounded on December 30 by gunfire at the viewing platform of the Naryn-Kala Fortress in Derbent is better. Two persons were transferred to the republic's hospital of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA); and two other victims – a male and a female – were moved today from intensive care unit to a general ward.

In the capital of Ingushetia, in Alania Square, the first electronic library has been installed, where residents can freely download to their mobile phones any of the 300 books – works of foreign and domestic classics, including Ingush authors.

A resolution has been signed on paying compensations for renting housing facilities; however, the tenants of the multi-storeyed house damaged by explosion have not applied for compensations to the operative headquarters, said the head of the Dzerzhinsky District of Volgograd. A woman-tenant of the house said that they are discussing the charter of the public organization "Tragedy at Kosmonavtov 47".

Eight residents of the settlement of Nardaran, detained on December 1, 2015, have been released by the police after serving 30 days of arrest, said Natiq Kerimov, the elder of the settlement.

The MPs of the Krasnodar Territory (also known as Kuban by the name of the river) have approved the resolution on transfer of the Olympic Media Centre in Sochi into federal ownership. The Kuban Governor said that the Territory plans to continue getting rid of unprofitable assets.

Relatives will have to "grapple with" the participants of the rally held in Austria, where they condemned the practice of public insults and harassment for the criticism addressed to the authorities of Chechnya, said the head of the republic Ramzan Kadyrov. The record of the event was put on TV on December 30, 2015.

More than 9 million Russian residents have chosen the best, in their opinion, cities in the country, having voted for them within the project "National Choice". The eighth place in the contest went to Magas, the capital of Ingushetia, and the tenth place – to Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria.

The New Year celebrations in central of Makhachkala were poorly visited and passed under reinforced police control. The interviewed citizens said that the strengthening of police units helped them feel safer.

Experts have outlined to the "Caucasian Knot" their vision of the main outcomes of the year for the above partially recognized republics.

Today, the People's Poet of Dagestan Fazu Alieva, who wrote in the Russian and Avar languages, has died in her 84th year of life. This fact is reported by the TASS with reference to the spokesman of the head of the administration of the leader and government of Dagestan.

Khizir Ezhiev, a teacher of economics from the Grozny State Oil Technical University (GSOTU), has been kidnapped. This information is disseminated by residents of Chechnya, including his students, through social networks and mobile applications. However, officials of the University and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) fail to confirm this information.