News

Start of new school year in Southern Russia and some regions of Southern Caucasus; commemoration of victims of 2004 Beslan terror act; conviction of journalist Khadija Ismayilova in Baku; earthquake in Azerbaijan, which damaged old buildings; aggravation of situation in the Karabakh conflict zone; completion of trial in Rostov-on-Don on case of Gagiev's grouping, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of August 31 to September 6, 2015, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

The people who gathered in St Akop Church in Stepanakert took part in the liturgy for the repose of the two soldiers lost on September 4 in the Karabakh conflict zone and lit candles in memory of the soldiers.

The number of residents of Dagestan, who have restrictions on their travels abroad, including for the upcoming Hajj, because of their overdue debts, has reduced by more than a third since December 2014.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) of Armenia is deliberately protracting the procedure for consideration of the conditional-early relief (CER) of Sogomon Kocharyan, sentenced to life imprisonment, said his advocate Grisha Balasanyan.

About 30 persons have begun a march from the Mashtots Park in Yerevan, organized by the initiative group "No to robbery!"

The Russians, who have left to fight for the "Islamic State" (IS), should be deprived of Russian citizenship, said the head of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Evkurov. According to his version, there is already a respective bill.

The Nalchik-based record label "Ored Recordings", headed by Bulat Khalilov, is preparing an album with songs of the Terek ensemble "Kazachka" (Cossack Woman). To make records for the album, the company made a folklore expedition to the village of Ekaterinodarskaya.

100 volunteers from the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) will carry out their combat duty in the Tavush Region of Armenia, where armed incidents on the border have become more frequent. The group of volunteers went to Armenia for three days; but they are ready to stay there longer.

Within the year the cost of making Hajj has grown significantly; and out of the quota of 6200 visitors, Dagestani Muslims could buy out only 3500.

Residents of Buynaksk tried to hold a rally in Lenin Square of Makhachkala, demanding to postpone election; however, policemen squeezed them off, the protesters report.

Today, eight activists of the public movement "Volgograd parents for children's rights" have held a picket in Volgograd against increase of fees for kindergartens, suspension of social benefits relating children, and reduction of kindergarten staff.

The hunger strike announced in Krasnodar by Svetlana Shabanova and Margarita Dudina gave no results. Officials in Krasnodar pay no attention to their demands; therefore, the action will continue in Moscow near the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO), said the hunger-strikers.

The National Centre of Cinematography of Georgia has expressed support for the film director Oleg Sentsov, sentenced to long imprisonment on terrorism charges.

The European Union (EU) has offered Armenia a new version of agreement, which will bind the parties to a lesser extent than an association agreement, said Jean Asselborn, the Foreign Minister of Luxembourg, the country now chairing the EU.

Dagestan will hold a new trial of the murder case of journalist Malik Akhmedilov, which will be more open than the first one. The court has allowed making photo and video recording of the sessions, while most of the first trial was held behind closed doors.