News

Rashid Temrezov, who was re-elected on September 18 for his new term as the head of the Karachay-Cherkessian Republic (KChR) has appointed a new senator (member of the Russia's Federation Council) – Rauf Arashukov. He will substitute Krym Kazanokov, who was appointed to represent the republic at the Federation Council in February 2016.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Ramazan Umarov was detained on April 28, 2007. His relatives could not define his whereabouts and turned to the prosecutor's office. The case on Umarov's kidnapping was opened on May 19, 2007; but it was never investigated and was suspended for six times.

In the Volgograd Region, numerous violations were registered at the elections, and the outcome of the voting was influenced by administrative resources and the low voter turnout. This opinion was voiced by members of the opposition parties interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

Today, the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) marks the Circassians' (Adygs') Day. On this occasion, it was declared a day off in the republic. On the eve of the holiday, the 11th Extraordinary Congress of the International Circassian Association (ICA) was held.

The opposition was unable to fight for the victory at the elections in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) without creating a strong coalition, the "Yabloko" Party has stated. The republic's leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) said that the ruling "Edinaya Rossiya" (United Russia) Party would not let any rival come close to it.

Ruslan Mutsolgov, the leader of the Ingush regional branch of the "Yabloko" Party, a candidate to the State Duma from the federal list, has announced his intention to challenge the results of the elections in Ingushetia.

The local authorities had coordinated the outcomes of elections in Chechnya well in advance; and one should not believe the official announced figures, according to which the "Yabloko" Party won only 0.03% of votes, Svetlana Gannushkina, a human rights activist and a candidate for the Russian State Duma from the "Yabloko", told said the "Caucasian Knot".

Ecologist Evgeny Vitishko, a candidate from the "Yabloko" Party, has reported to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent on mass violations during the voting at the Tuapse electoral district. According to the ecologist, the turnout in Tuapse was overstated by 2.5 times, and the results of the voting "do not reflect the real situation."

In North Ossetia, the elections of deputies to the State Duma were held without gross violations. This was reported by Konstantin Kadiev, the chairman of the Election Commission for North Ossetia.

The preliminary data on voter turnout in comparison with the 2011 similar election campaign indicate a downward trend in the interest of residents of Chechnya, Stavropol Territory, Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) and Ingushetia to the election of Russian State Duma MPs. However, this time, the voter turnout has increased slightly in Dagestan, Karachay-Cherkessian Republic (KChR) and North Ossetia.

The voters of the Karachay-Cherkessian Republic (KChR), interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" on the voting day, treated the non-admission of the self-nominee Aliya Totorkulov to the elections as their major disappointment of the 2016 election campaign.

The association for the defence of electoral rights "Civilian Control" has sent an appeal to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) demanding to investigate the fight that broke out on the voting day at a polling station in Dagestan.

Single voting day at elections in southern regions of Russia; election of leaders of North Ossetia and Karachay-Cherkessia; celebrations of Eid al-Adha; detention of Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Kabardino-Balkaria on suspicion of bribe-giving; appointment of a new prime minister in Armenia; jurors' verdict in Sergey Zirinov's case; death in Chechnya of Yuri Torshin, a former commander of the special group "Alpha", – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of September 12-18, 2016, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

As reported by the Ministry of Urban Development of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), by the end of the year, some 50 families will live in new cottages, built in a new residential neighbourhood named Ariavan and located in the Kashatag District of the NKR.

During the week of September 12-18, 2016, no one fell victim to the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

A ballot box at the polling station in the village of Gotsatl was broken by a group of young people, who supported the pro-regime candidate and rushed into the station, a local resident told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. Social media have posted photos from the station, where torn down ballots can be seen.

Polling Station No. 455 in Volgograd, where on September 18 a lot of people voted by means of the so-called "absentee voting certificates", is located in the hospital, where Nina Cherniaeva, a candidate for the State Duma from the "Edinaya Rossiya" (United Russia) Party, is the Chief Physician

Residents of Dagestan have reported on falsifications at polling stations, campaigning for the ruling party on the day of voting, and other violations to the Centre to monitor violations during the elections, created under the newspaper "Chernovik" (Draft)".

This morning, the office, which the regional branch of the PARNAS Party is renting in Volgograd, was locked without the knowledge of party activists. Nobody explains the reasons, said Anatoly Polunin, a party member.

Today, the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) of Azerbaijan has held a rally at a Baku stadium against the amendments to the constitution, which broaden the powers of the president.