News

The aggravation of socio-economic situation in Russia, and further departure of elites away from ordinary people in Northern Caucasus create fertile soil for strengthening the position of the "Islamic State" (IS), recognized as a terrorist organization, the experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

The head of Chechnya has stated that Turkish media are spreading information about an assassination attempt on him because of his "principled viewpoint on the downed aircraft."

In a shootout with policemen in Kizilyurt, Nuzhidin Zubairov and Shamil Gadjiev, suspected militants, were killed and, said the press service of the Department for Dagestan of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF); while earlier a law enforcement source had reported about three casualties.

The Ust-Djeguta District Court of the Karachay-Cherkessian Republic (KChR) has sentenced Akhmat Seitov and Botash Botashov to 10 months in prison for their intention to go to Syria for joining the militants of the "Islamic State" (IS).

The commander of one of the units fighting for the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Lugansk is Andrei Ruzinskiy, a colonel of the Russian Armed Forces. At the time of the massacre of the Avetisyan family in Gyumri, he was in command of the 102nd Russian military base, stationed in that Armenian city.

Two fire-fighters, who were attacked in the Derbent District of Dagestan, stay at the traumatology ward of the Derbent City Hospital.

The men killed during a shootout with law enforcers in the vicinity of Kizilyurt are identified as Nukhudin Zubairov, Shamil Gadjiev, and Magomed Khairullaev. According to a source from the law enforcement bodies, they rendered assistance to local militants.

In the outskirts of Kizilyurt, in the course of an armed clash, law enforcers killed three armed accomplices of militants. This reported by sources from the law enforcement bodies.

Elena Kostyuchenko, a special correspondent of the "Novaya Gazeta", has become the winner of the Andrei Sakharov Prize "For Journalism as a Deed" in 2015. In her materials, Elena Kostyuchenko often highlights problems of residents of the southern regions of Russia.

Imprisonment for 7 years was demanded by the prosecutor for Azerbaijani journalist Rauf Mirkadyrov accused of espionage in favour of Armenia. The final speech of his defence is scheduled for December 23.

In Azerbaijan, advocate Elton Guliev died. He was well-known as a defender of the rights of many activists and journalists subjected to prosecution. He was 58 years old, and he died from cancer.

In Paris, the exhibition "Culture. People. Dagestan" has launched the Days of Dagestan, which are devoted to the 2000th anniversary of Derbent.

In Sochi, activists of the Public Ecological Council have discussed the problems remaining after the Winter Olympic Games. According to the activists, the city has suffered from large-scale construction of various facilities, inefficient garbage collection, and imported pests.

Political analyst Albert Esedov sees no connection between the criminal case against Magomed Orudjev, who used to be the Prosecutor of the Soviet District of Makhachkala, and the criminal case against Said Amirov, the ex-Mayor of Makhachkala.

The strike of truck drivers and entrepreneurs with the demand to abolish the "Platon" system has brought a lot of losses. This was stated by participants of the protest action in Volgograd, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

Drivers of 70-80 heavy vehicles continue truckers' strike in the Dagestan city of Khasavyurt. Protestors report no obstacles from the police.

The international human rights organization "Amnesty International" (AI) has launched a campaign in support of Krasnodar activist Darya Polyudova.

Reporter Orkhan Djemal and political analysts Akhmet Yarlykapov and Ruslan Martagov cast doubt on the FSB Chief's statements about the killing of 20 leaders of the "Islamic State" (IS) in Northern Caucasus. According to the reporter and the political analysts, the most authoritative and influential leaders of the IS have survived.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has presented to the parties to the Karabakh conflict an updated list of the persons disappeared in the conflict zone prior to the introduction of the ceasefire regime in 1994.

The law signed by Russia's president a that allows the Constitutional Court (CC) to recognize decisions of international courts unenforceable is dangerous and violates citizens’ rights, believe Lyudmila Alexeyeva, the Chair of the Moscow Helsinki Group, and Olga Gnezdilova, an activist of the project named "Stitching Russian Justice Initiative".