News

The case of Evgeny Vitishko has an obvious political context, the participants of the rallies in support of the Krasnodar ecologist held in various cities of Russia have stated. Alexander Cherkasov, the Chairman of the Board of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", believes that the decisions of this sort taken in localities are contrary to the efforts undertaken by the federal centre to improve the country's image.

One of the versions of the law enforcement bodies suggests that a suicide bombing at the railway station in Volgograd could be committed by a male suicide bomber. Earlier, Vladimir Markin, Spokesman of the ICRF, has reported that, according to the preliminary information, the terror act was committed by a female suicide bomber, a native of Dagestan.

According to the calculations made by the "Caucasian Knot", during the "pre-Olympic" year from February 12, 2013, till December 29, 2013, 32 explosions were committed in the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) and the Southern Federal District (SFD).

The explosion committed on Sunday at the railway station in Volgograd became the third explosion since the beginning of the year. Earlier, the terror act was committed in the city bus, and there were attempts to blow up police buildings.

In the Krasnodar Territory, Besik Kudukhov, a native of South Ossetia, two-time Olympic medalist and four-time world champion in freestyle wrestling, was killed in a road traffic accident.

New Year celebrations have nothing in common with Islamic traditions and have no historical past in Dagestan. This was stated by Akhmad Anchikhsky, a follower of the Salafi trend in Islam. Meanwhile, according to Sirazhudin-Khadji Akhmedov, a follower of the Dagestani Sufism, some actions of celebration can drive Muslims out of Islam.

Today at about 10:00 p.m., in a Baku hospital, Zaur Gasanov, an invalid and a Karabakh War veteran, who attempted self-immolation on December 25, has died.

Investigators are working with various versions of involvement of two main suspects in the explosion of a car in Pyatigorsk, said a source from local law enforcement bodies.

Today in Baku, a man attempted self-immolation and was hospitalized in grave condition. This is the second self-immolation attempt in Baku this week and the third during this year, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

A year after the murder of Ibragim Dudarov, Deputy Mufti of North Ossetia, there is no information about the course of the inquiry, said Khadjimurat Gatsalov, Co-Chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia. Felix Tsokov, a former investigator of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) in North Ossetia, also said that in Russia as a whole, same as in Northern Caucasus, murder of Imams remain uninvestigated.

Activists of the Armenian opposition parties plan to address their lawsuit to the Constitutional Court of Armenia with a lawsuit regarding the invalidity of the parliamentary vote on ratification of the Armenian-Russian agreements on gas, said Lyudmila Sarkisyan, an MP from the oppositional faction "Armenian National Congress" (ANC).

Today, a militant, blocked in a house in the Khasavyurt District of Dagestan, was killed as a result of the explosion. This was reported by a source from the district law enforcement bodies.

An explosive device detonated in Pyatigorsk on December 27 was of about 50 kg of TNT equivalent, a source from the law enforcement bodies reports.

In the evening of December 27, in Sochi, residents of "Zavokzalny", "Gagarin" and "New Sochi" neighbourhoods spent several hours without electricity and heating supply because of troubles on the cable lines.

Alexander Valov, the owner of the website "BlogSochi", who was found guilty of violating the order of organizing a rally, filed an appeal against the court's decision.

The Azerbaijani Trade Unions Confederation (ATUC) undertook all the costs for the medical treatment of Zaur Gasanov, who on December 25 committed an attempt of self-immolation in the centre of Baku, and support of his family members.

Today, in Makhachkala, relatives and friends of Magomed Orudjev, a prosecutor of the Sovietsky District of Makhachkala, detained on suspicion of illegal arms circulation, held a rally against the tyranny of law enforcement bodies. The action brought together about a hundred people, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

Over 20 depositors of the bankrupt "Regional Development Bank" took part in a picket in Vladikavkaz. They demanded to have their money back, said Madina Akoeva, one of the protesters. The picketers were those depositors of the bank, whose transactions were regarded as questionable and not included into the register of the failed bank.

Azerbaijan has expresses an official protest against Armenia's accession to the Customs Union. As stated today by Ali Gasanov, the head of the department of social and political issues of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration, his country would stick to this position until the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

As reported by the press centre of the Russia's Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), an explosion was triggered at the building of the GIBDD (traffic police) in the city of Pyatigorsk, killing three people.