News

An Armenian court held an eight-hour hearing on extending the detention of businessman Samvel Karapetyan, but postponed its decision. The hearing took place amid a protest by Karapetyan's relatives and supporters.

The head of the Investigative Committee ordered a report on the violation of the rights of residents of the village of Novokuli to high-quality road infrastructure.

The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen spoke with protesters outside the Georgian Parliament, who blocked traffic on Rustaveli Avenue for the 321st day in a row. 

On the occasion of Svetitskhovloba holiday, Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili pardoned 70 convicts.

Voting for a new design for the 500-ruble banknote is nothing out of the ordinary, but the Central Bank failed to ensure sufficient transparency, turning the process into a competition between the peoples of the Caucasus, exacerbating the use of administrative resources.

Blogger Areg Shchepikhin, arrested for extremism after being abducted by Chechen security forces from a Moscow train station, told the court that he had been receiving threats from rivals for a long time and recorded a video with ethnic insults to urge them to "stay away."

Those killed during the attack on the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria 20 years ago were remembered during a memorial service held in Nalchik.

The health of activist Nijad Ibrahim, sentenced to 6.5 years in prison, has worsened as a result of a prolonged hunger strike. 

Chechen Minister Akhmed Dudayev called the early end of the "biased voting" for the images on the new 500-ruble banknote a victory. The Dagestan Ministry of Tourism, which had announced a prize draw for voters, has suspended its competition.

Georgian intelligence agencies announced the arrest of three individuals who planned to create a base for members of the Islamic State*, specifically to provide logistical services to like-minded individuals.

A Moscow court sentenced blogger Areg Shchepikhin to five years in prison after he was abducted by Chechen security forces at a Moscow train station.

Investigators in Armenia have unfoundedly brought new charges of economic crime against the arrested businessman Samvel Karapetyan, the businessman's lawyers stated.

The Central Bank of Russia stated that votes for the objects to be depicted on the 500-ruble banknote were inflated, annulling the results. Voting will be held later under stricter conditions. Today, Elbrus significantly outperformed Grozny-City in online voting.

The task force reported minor fuel oil spills in Anapa. The storm dumped numerous fuel oil spills and even exposed buried bags of previously collected contaminated sand. Judging by the volume of the spills, the sand sifting operation needs to begin again, the blogger noted.

Authorities have announced the cancellation of the drone threat in the Volgograd region. Some local residents have complained that they are not receiving alerts about the drone threat, despite receiving notifications that the threat has been cancelled.

The Investigative Committee has reopened the investigation into the abuse of power by employees of the Rostov prison hospital, which was suspended in the winter due to the failure to identify suspects.

Voting for the new 500-ruble banknote design is now only possible by logging in through Gosuslugi; other authorization options were previously offered. Chechen Minister Akhmed Dudayev accused the Central Bank of changing the rules of the game when Grozny-City became the leader in the vote.

A drone attack in the Volgograd region shattered windows in several homes, injuring a man with shards of glass. A drone attack was also recorded in the Rostov region.

Ramzan Kadyrov's promise of prizes to voters who voted for the image of "Grozny-City" on the 500-ruble banknote became a tool of influence, similar to the use of administrative resources in the Chechen elections.