News

On Monday, in Rostov-on-Don, at the trial in the case against Said Amirov, Mayor of Makhachkala, who was dismissed from office and accused of plotting a terror act, the court has questioned his personal assistant Askhabov. The latter has stated he had never seen Abdulgalimov at the city administration.

In the Khasavyurt District of Dagestan, unidentified persons shelled a Granta car, driven by a staff member of the gas company "Dagestantransgaz". This was reported by the Dagestani Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). The victim died at the place because of his injuries.

According to the press service of the Dagestani Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), the attack took place in the village of Komsomolskoe. A man in mask entered the house, shot and killed the teacher, who used to work in the village of Sauri of the Tsuntin District.

Political crisis in Abkhazia that ended in abdication of President Alexander Ankvab; reports of Chechen residents about funeral of locals who perished in warfare in the Donetsk Region of Ukraine; conviction of Anar Mamedli who conducted monitoring of presidential election in Azerbaijan; conviction of Kontantin Shirshov, a State Duma MP from the Krasnodar Territory, for an attempted fraud; abolition of direct election of heads of towns and districts of Volgograd Region; "Extraordinary Congress of Dagestani Nations" urging Russian President to dismiss region head, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of May 26-June 1, 2014, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

During the week from May 26 to June 1, 2014, at least four persons fell victim to the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus; of them, three persons were killed and one wounded. These are the results of calculations made by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

Alexander Ankvab has handed the seal of the Abkhazian President to Valery Bganba, Parliament Speaker, appointed by the Parliament as Acting President of Abkhazia. This was reported by Kristian Bjaniya, Press Secretary of Alexander Ankvab.

On May 31, Makhachkala hosted the "Extraordinary Congress of Dagestani Nations". Delegates to the Congress have proposed the Russian President to dismiss Dagestani leader Ramazan Abdulatipov ahead of schedule and appoint one of the three Dagestani politicians in his position.

In Sochi, construction of the Olympic facilities led the house of the Kapustin family to the state unfit for living. This was stated by the Kapustin family members. However, despite the expertise, which supports the arguments of the family members, the court has dismissed the lawsuit filed by the Kapustin family.

On May 30, the Sakharov Centre in Moscow hosted a presentation of the book written by Polina Zherebtsova, a documentary journalist and a poet entitled "An Ant in Glass Jar; 1994-2004. Chechen Diaries".

The Public Council and the authorities of Sochi have expressed their intention to create a gambling zone in the Imereti Valley with the aim to attract tourists into the city and load the facilities built for the recent Winter Olympics.

Today, local MPs have appointed Valery Bganba, the Speaker of the Parliament of Abkhazia, to be the Acting President of the republic. The early presidential election is scheduled for August 24 this year.

Today at a meeting, residents of the Kirov District of Volgograd have demanded to improve and repair the local road network, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports. In total, the event was attended by about 50 vehicles and nearly 100 people.

On May 30 in Moscow, about 200 people rallied against removal of the candidacies of Aliy Totorkulov and Ruslan Kurbanov from the elections to the Public Chamber (PC) of the Russian Federation. According to Sultan Togonidze, the campaign manager of Aliy Totorkulov, some PC members went out to meet the protesters, but no officials of the Chamber ever appeared.

In Azerbaijan, election campaigns are held in unequal conditions, since candidates from the ruling party use administrative resource. This was stated by participants of the conference held in Baku. They have called on the society to organize public control over the funds of candidates and provide them with equal access to the media.

Tonight, two persons were killed in the shelling from a car near the village of Uchkent of the Kumtorkala District of Dagestan. This was reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) for Dagestan.

Residents of Astrakhan, whose houses were damaged by fire on March 25, complain that till present, they have not received information whether they will be granted new houses. Astrakhan administration has disseminated the information that only tenants of three municipal burned apartments were granted "equal housing under the social contract of rent."

Abkhazia has no intention to become a part of the Russian Federation; and the republic has no plans to review the possibility of changing the status of an independent state. This was announced by the Interim People's Council of Abkhazia.

On May 30, Ukrainian law enforcers recorded a breakthrough of armed men in vehicles from the section of border with the Rostov Region of Russia. As a result, five persons were detained. This was reported by the State Frontier Service of Ukraine.

At present, 14 natives of Chechnya are in the combat zone in Ukraine. Of them, one was killed and four were wounded. This was announced by Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of the Chechen Republic.

Prosecutors accuse the human rights activist Leyla Yunus of evading the inquiry and warn her about criminal responsibility and possible arrest. In her turn, Ms Yunus blames the Prosecutor's Office for violating her rights and explains her refusal to appear before the investigator by confiscation of foreign passports from her and her husband, and documents on ownership of their apartment.