News

Today, the head of Dagestan Ramazan Abdulatipov has dismissed three members of the government, including the detained Vice-Premier Magomedgusen Nasrutdinov, the press service of the government told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Three people with a grenade, drugs and explosives were detained in a hotel in Rostov-on-Don during inspections that were initiated after the terror acts committed in Volgograd, Andrei Larionov, the head of the regional department of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), said today.

As reported by the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Dagestan, in 2013, they received 215 reports about kidnappings; of them, 190 referred to bride abductions with the aim of marriage.

Russian Premier Dmitry Medvedev said that special services should treat Doku Umarov as a live person as long as reliable evidence of his death is presented. Meanwhile, on January 22, a new charge was presented in absentia to the leader of North-Caucasian militants leaders – of justifying of terrorism, said a source familiar with the situation.

In Karachay-Cherkessia, an exhibition, dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the end of the Russian-Caucasian War, presents 39 works by Sheomir Guchepshoko, a Circassian painter.

On January 22, five people went out to hold a picket for the rights of children, which was held in front of the building of the Central Bank in Volgograd. They demanded from state bureaucrats to cut their expenses and direct the saved money to treat sick children.

Now, there are already four activists who criticized the Olympic Games in Sochi and were detained for that in Rostov-on-Don. Eduard Nikolaev, a member of the unregistered "December 5 Party", is the fourth one. On January 22, this was reported by Alyona Rudsko, the coordinator of the "Citizen Observer" Project for the Rostov Region.

The Olympic construction has caused damage to the Sochi environment and natural reserves of the region; and in the course of preparing the Games, the authorities strengthened pressure on civil society activists, said the participants of the press conference held in Moscow on January 22.

About 300 people gathered in front of the former building of the parliament in Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi to express their support to Euromaidan protesters in Kiev, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

In the city of Taganrog, Rostov Region, policemen detained Ivan Sedush, a local TV reporter, and kept him for four hours. The detainee has associated it with the Olympic Torch Relay held in Rostov-on- Don; in their turn, the police argue that he was not detained, but just invited for a talk.

Today, officials of the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of Germany, Italy and Slovenia have reported that they had received emails with threats of terror acts against their athletes who go to the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

The rules are posted on the official website of the Winter Olympics: fans are not allowed to bring any dangerous items to the sporting facilities, signal flares and big bags. Violators will be deprived of accreditation and fan passport.

Kalsyn Akkaziev, a native of Dagestan, states that he is persecuted by law enforcers of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra, where he lived before 2012. According to Akkaziev, he was put on the operative wanted list as a potential terrorist; therefore, he is afraid of provocations. The police of Yugra deny that Akkaziev had been put on the wanted list.

The National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Hungary has received a letter containing the terrorist threats on the eve of the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. This was reported today by Zsolt Borkai, Chairman of the National Olympic Committee of Hungary.

American and Sochi media report on four wanted female suicide bombers who are allegedly willing to blow themselves up during the Olympic Games in Sochi. The orientation report describing one of them has been disseminated on blogs in last August: it was reported that the potential female suicide bomber is in North Ossetia and that she can commit a terror act in one of the Russian cities. Internet users note the contradictions in the disseminated orientation reports.

Imprisoned natives of Northern Caucasus, who are serving their sentences in the penal colony No. 7 of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (known as FSIN) Department for the Republic of Mordovia, complain about oppressions on a national basis committed by the administration of the penitentiary institution.

On January 21, in Baku, members of NGOs and opposition parties of Azerbaijan met PACE Co-Rapporteurs Pedro Agramunt Font de Mora and Joseph Debono Gresh. Civil society activists and oppositionists have expressed their dissatisfaction with the attitude of the PACE Co-Rapporteurs, who, according to the activists, were trying to smooth the problems and shortcomings existing in the country.

Judge Yulia Rogova from the Kirov District Court of Astrakhan has found Igor Stenin, one of the organizers of the "People's Assembly" in Astrakhan guilty of disorderly conduct and sentenced him to an administrative fine in the amount of 1000 roubles.

The operational headquarters to eliminate the consequences of the disaster that struck the city of Krasnodar has made the decision to introduce an emergency regime. Public utility services do not make any predictions on the timing for the restoration of life support systems.

In Sochi, residents of Vishnevy Lane claim that, starting from January 9, electricity supply is being cut off in their houses for 12 and more hours. "Kubanenergo" spokesman has reported that the cable line in the area is damaged and that a diesel generator would be connected in the nearest future.