News

Announcement of official outcomes of presidential elections in Armenia and non-recognition of them by the opponents of the winner Sargsyan; termination of protest action in Dagestan of Chechens-Akkies, who demanded to have their lands in the Novolak District back; inspection of Georgian producers of wine and mineral water by Russian experts; conviction in terror case in the Stavropol Territory; end of nomination of candidates for the post of Anapa Mayor – so far, ten pretenders, – look these and other events in the Caucasus in the review of the week of February 25-March 3, 2013, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

Absalitdin Murzaev, the head of the Board of Elders of the Kumyk Nation, who was beaten on March 3 in Dagestan, was to make a report, on March 18, at the administration of the Plenipotentiary Envoy of the Russian Federation to the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD), on corruption in land issues in Northern Caucasus. The attack could have to do with the presentation of the report, Mr Murzaev has supposed.

The Moscow City Court (MCC) has extended till July 7 the arrest of the ex-militiaman Sergey Khadjikurbanov, a figurant of the murder case of the journalist of the "Novaya Gazeta" Anna Politkovskaya, said the press service of the MCC.

Today at night, Islam Shakhtamarov, one of the suspects of the armed attack on Ruslan Dakhkilgov, the head of the department of the Rosselkhoznadzor" (Russian Federal Agency for Agricultural Supervision) for Ingushetia, died at the Central Republic's Hospital of Nazran.

During the week from February 25 to March 3, 2013, at least nine persons suffered in the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus: one of them died and eight were wounded. These are the calculations made by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

On March 3, over fifty activists of the Makarenko dwelling district in Sochi 3 held a rally of citizens, where they collected signatures against construction of a "Magnit" network store and authorities' commanding the territory of dwelling districts through disregarding public opinion.

In Azerbaijan, the demand of the parents of the Private Seimur Allakhverdiev, who perished while at his military service, to hold a repeated forensic examination was not satisfied.

The "Social March" in Rostov-on-Don with a demand to decrease the utility tariffs was 20 persons strong.

Today, the non-registered nationalistic political party "Novaya Sila" (New Force) has held a picket opposite the building of the administration of the city of Nevinnomyssk with a demand that the Stavropol Territory leaves the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD). The police gave detained one of the picketers.

Armen Nazaryan, a winner of the Olympic Games in 1996 and 2000, has announced a hunger strike in protest against the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) not to recommend wrestling into the programme of the Olympiad-2020.

Today, Baku hosted actions in memory of journalist Elmar Guseinov who was assassinated eight years ago.

President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili can dissolve the parliament in April 2013; however, this is not within his interests, Gela Vasadze, the editor-in-chief of the Agency "Black Sea Press", believes. In his turn, Irakly Menagarishvili, the head of the Centre of Strategic Studies, asserts that dissolution of the parliament by Saakashvili can be quite well expected.

An extension to the trade gallery has collapsed in central Sochi. The construction turned into garbage covering the whole territory, which had earlier been a greenery zone and a park, townspeople assert.

Officer from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Dagestan came to Moscow to tell about the problems of their ministry. A group of officers is seeking an appointment with the Russia's Interior Minister and asks to hold a broad-scale audit of the MIA, City and District Interior Divisions of Dagestan.

The first stage of inspection of Georgia's wineries and mineral water factories by the "Rospotrebnadzor" (Russian Federal Agency for Consumer Supervision) is over; in total, 44 factories were inspected. According to Gennady Onischenko, the head of the above agency, there were some drawbacks revealed at the factories; however, they can be easily eliminated.

In Azerbaijan, a group in the Facebook "Stop soldiers' deaths!" is inviting people to a protest action associated with the death of Private Seimur Allakhverdiev.

A book about Makhachkala "There Was a City..." was published in Dagestan; it is a collection of memoirs of 83 residents of Makhachkala recorded by journalists Svetlana Anokhina and Polina Sanaeva and illustrated by photographs – views of the city and portraits of the authors and memoir heroes.

On February 28, the capital of Armenia hosted a mourning march and a prayer in memory of the ten persons who perished on March 2008, when the police dispersed a peaceful rally demanding to nullify the election totals.

The Tsentralny District Court of Sochi has considered the appeal lodged by Svetlana Kravchenko, a journalist of the "Caucasian Knot" against the verdict on the case of beating Vladimir Krivosheev, a guard of the Private Guarding Enterprise (known as "ChOP") "Region-3". The court has sent the case to reconsideration.

The emotions of the students' strike in Armenia are getting beyond borders, said Armen Ashotyan, Minister of Education and Sciences, and called the organizers to admit that their action has failed.