News

Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the dismissal of Chechen Police Chief Apti Alaudinov, the "Kommersant" reports today.

The political crisis in Armenia has not only led to opposition fragmentation, but also exacerbated social and economic problems; therefore, the agreement on holding parliamentary elections was the optimal decision, the analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

Now, a trip to the store is much more expensive; people have to either reduce the number of purchased foodstuffs, or choose cheaper items to the detriment of their quality, the Volgograd residents interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" assert.

Shakir Nazarov, an Azerbaijani citizen, needs medical treatment at home, but for two weeks he stays at the Dagestani camp "Ogonyok" (Flicker), awaiting to cross the border. The number of residents of the temporary accommodation centre (TAC) is constantly changing, as many are losing hope of returning home in the near future, Mr Nazarov himself has stated.

The chalet "Achipse", which is believed to be Putin's residence, includes a personal cable car and a helipad. The residence itself is adorned with copies of medieval tapestries made by hand in Italy, gilded vases worth 187,000 roubles each and other luxury items from a trading house that has been a supplier to the Russian Imperial Court for 400 years, says the publication of the edition "Sobesednik" (Interlocutor).

Before the war, Karabakh authorities promised housing to refugees from Azerbaijan, who had been on the waiting list for more than 30 years, but now officials have forgotten about them and are busy only with the housing problem of new forced migrants, refugees have complained.

Vladimir Putin should organize a check of the activities of the "Novaya Gazeta", the Chechen Parliament has stated. After Elena Milashina's publication, Shamsail Saraliev, a State Duma MP, has appealed to the Russian General Prosecutor's Office (GPO).

The North-Caucasian Muftiates are accepting believers' applications for performing Hajj to Saudi Arabia, but because of the pandemic, the quotas for regions and the rules for making the pilgrimage have not been finally defined.

The Chechen law enforcement bodies promise that "everything will be fine" and try to persuade relatives of Ilyas Saduev, deported from France, to refuse hiring an advocate by agreement in order to deprive him of real defence in court, human rights defenders interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" suggest.

Today, two persons have been detained in a case on rallies in Magas, and one of them has got an injury during the detention, advocates Magomed Bekov and Djabrail Kuriev report.

Human rights defenders suggest that the readiness to "stop insults" to Chechen law enforcers, which was demonstrated in their address to President Putin by colleagues of the former law enforcer, whose evidence was made public by the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta", should be regarded as a threat to the newspaper's correspondents.

Elections to the Armenian parliament will take place on June 20, and a relevant agreement has been reached after consultations with members of parliamentary parties, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reports today.

Fighters from the Akhmat Kadyrov special-purpose police regiment, who call on to close the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta" because of its critical posts, should address their claims to a court, and not to Vladimir Putin, Russian President's press secretary Dmitry Peskov states.

The journalists of the "Novaya Gazeta" newspaper are ready to stop working if this is guaranteed by the cessation of human rights violations in Chechnya, the newspaper's press service reported in response to the demands of the rally participants in Chechnya to close the edition.

On March 17, the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) of Russia adopted a fatwa, which recognizes the "Sputnik V" vaccine against coronavirus admissible from the viewpoint of the Sharia Law, said Ildar Alyautdinov, the Chief Imam of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque.

Two natives of Chechnya have received gunshot wounds during a conflict in the French city of Rennes.

About 100 residents of the dwelling settlement of Progress in the Stavropol Territory came to a gathering demanding to move the cell tower, which is being installed in the settlement centre. They threatened to demolish the tower frame again if the local authorities fail to satisfy their demands.

The art project "Gradation" in Batumi, dedicated to problems of transgender people in Georgia, was visited by more than 200 people in five days, organizers have reported. The exhibition allowed transgender people, who occurred especially vulnerable in the context of the pandemic and COVID-19 restrictions, to declare their rights, according to the people who took part in the project.

The fighters of the Akhmat Kadyrov Special Police Regiment are being forced to make one of them "take responsibility for stopping insults of the whole regiment staff," said one of the Chechen law enforcers who recorded a video message to the Russian President in connection with the publications of the "Novaya Gazeta" about extrajudicial executions.

Law enforcers have demanded from Suleiman Gezmakhmaev's relatives to force him to declare his story about torture and killings in Chechnya to be fiction, and threatened the family with problems, their fellow villagers have informed.