News

On the eve of the New Year, President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili pardoned 114 inmates convicted for committing various crimes. Journalists were told today about it by Khatuna Kalmakhelidze, the head of the Ministry for Corrections, Probation and Legal Aid.

Resettlement of the Adygs (Circassians) living in the Syrian Arab Republic to their historical homeland in the territory of Russia is a logical and necessary step, given the tense situation in Syria. This opinion was expressed by the residents of Adygea, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

On December 30, in Baku, the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) tried to hold an unsanctioned protest action against the arrest of Zeinal Bagirzade, a member of the Nakhchivan Branch of the Party. Several persons were detained.

This year, the Volgograd pre-school establishments have added 3156 additional places; it was done within the campaign aimed to reduce the waiting list of the parents willing to put their kids to pre-school institutions. However, the members of the initiative group, who struggle for the rights of children, have stated that these measures were insufficient.

The billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who has recently announced his intention to go into politics, has addressed the official structures of Georgia with a request to assign Georgian citizenship to him.

The Union has sent an appeal to Russian President and Prime Minister demanding the return of benefits. The appeal claims that housing problems of the liquidators of the Chernobyl accident are not solved, pensions and welfare benefits were reduced, and several liquidators were discriminated.

The Internet-medium "Caucasian Knot" has summed up its contest for the best Twitter message. On December 19-29, 2011, readers voted for the messages selected by the editorial staff. As a result, most votes were cast for the comments sent by Gennady Chernayvsky, Temirzhan Baisiev and Laneya95, who will receive prizes.

On December 29, in Yerevan, in front of the building of the government, an action was held in support of Kajaran villagers. The protesters demanded to annul the decision of the government, under which the lands that belonged to the rural community of Kajaran were transferred to the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine.

A large-scale poultry development project, which is currently being implemented in the Prigorodny District of North Ossetia, next year will open new production facilities, which will allow employing more than 600 local residents, said the director of the "Mikhailovskiy Pedigree Multiplication Farm". The authorities support the project and indicate that there are some other interesting suggestions regarding organization of new productions in the district.

On December 29, the RGVK "Dagestan" TV Channel presented a film-essay made by journalist Dmitry Aselderov "Citizen of One Epoch", dedicated to Garun Kurbanov, the head of the department for information policy of the presidential press service, who was killed this summer,

On December 29, Cherkessk hosted an extraordinary sitting of the Council of Circassian NGOs in Russia in the context of the appeal of the Circassian living Syrian Arab Republic to the Russian Federation asking for help. The participants of the sitting - leaders of the Russian Circassian NGOs and movements - set up a commission on repatriation of Circassians from Syria.

Today, on December 30, Vladislav Makshanov, an activist of the movement "Left-Wing Front", and Sergey Rusakov, a member of the Civil Committee, were detained during the action for release of political prisoners.

Today, the pre-border village of Ergneti saw an exchange of prisoners between South Ossetia and Georgia. In total, 26 persons were transferred; 13 persons on each party.

In Vladikavkaz, the capital of South Ossetia, 27 persons were detained in the course of a protest action against earlier arrests of supporters of Alla Djioeva, a former presidential candidate. Some of the detainees have already been released, said Alla Akhbolova, the head of the press service of the local Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).

The workers employed for construction of a hospital in Gurjaani held an action of protest demanding wage payment.

On December, 29, several hundred residents of Anapa came out in protection of the public garden named after Avanesov. During the unauthorized action the participants dismantled the building blocks set in the area of the garden.

Zeinal Bagirzade, Head of regional branch of "Civil movement for democracy "Public Chamber" arrested in Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic experiences health problems. The activist's relatives and colleagues consider that he underwent torture. Regional authorities produce no comments on this statement.

Residents of the capital of North Ossetia appealed to the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation (PCRF) with a complaint of resumption of harmful emissions into the atmosphere by the plant "Electrozink". The "Rospotrebnadzor" (Russian Federal Agency for Consumer Supervision) confirmed the facts of pollution of the environment in Vladikavkaz.

The Kamskoe-Ustye District Court of Tatarstan has sentenced Yuri Tuchin, Captain of Astrakhan dry-cargo ship "Arbat", to a fine amounted to 130,000 roubles for failure to render assistance to people in distress in crash of the motor vessel "Bulgariya".

In the city of Taganrog of the Rostov Region, about 500 representatives of branches of political parties and public movements held a rally against mass falsifications at the elections of deputies to the State Duma. This was reported by the press service of the Rostov Regional Branch of the CPRF (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.