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South Ossetia may become part of Russia as a separate subject and then unite with North Ossetia. This has been proposed today by Anatoly Bibilov, President of South Ossetia. The referendum on joining Russia will not have legal force, emphasizes Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani.

In Yerevan, participants of a protest action held in front of the UN office called on the international community to pay attention to the threat to the security of residents of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Militaries from South Ossetia take part in the special military operation in Ukraine, and residents of the republic are more concerned about their fate than about the presidential election, Zaur Farniev suggests. In South Ossetia, voters are in a depressed state not only because of the special military operation in Ukraine, but because of a whole range of socio-political problems, Ruslan Totrov believes.

At the height of Farrukh, near the Karabakh village of the same name, the remains of, presumably, Azerbaijani soldiers who perished during the first Karabakh war were found, the State Commission of Azerbaijan has stated today.

Unlike South Ossetia, Abkhazia has no plans to become part of Russia; and the issue of the republic's independence is clearly defined in its Constitution, Valery Kvarchiya, the Speaker of the Abkhaz Parliament, and Sergey Shamba, the Secretary of the Security Council, have noted.

The Chechen branch of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) has refused to conduct an inquiry into the threats addressed to the Yangulbaev family, voiced earlier by high-ranking Chechen law enforcers. Human rights defenders intend to appeal against this ICRF's refusal.

The participants of the action in Tbilisi in memory of the children who died in Ukraine brought children's shoes to the parliament building; a similar action was held in Kutaisi.

On March 30, Anatoly Bibilov, the president of South Ossetia, declared that his partially recognized republic will soon take legal steps to join Russia. This statement was made amid the preparations for the presidential election scheduled for April 10.

The court has fined Arslang Sandjiev, the chairman of the congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk people, by 35,000 roubles, finding the pacifist appeal of the congress to be discrediting for Russian militaries. Mr Sandjiev, earlier fined for a similar post, has decided to appeal against the court's ruling.

Russian State Duma member Mikhail Delyagin has been charged in absentia under several criminal articles for calling for war against Azerbaijan because of the escalation in Karabakh, the General Prosecutor’s Office of Azerbaijan reports.

In Moscow, a court sentenced Oleg Orlov, a member of the board of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) “Memorial”*, to a fine of 50,000 roubles, considering his picket with criticism of Vladimir Putin to be discrediting the Russian Armed Forces. The human rights defender pleaded not guilty.

The Baku authorities referred to anti-COVID restrictions and dismissed a request from the opposition National Council of Democratic Forces to hold a rally against the special military operation in Ukraine.

According to the economists interviewed by the “Caucasian Knot”, shadow incomes must also be taken into account when calculating the standard of living in the regions of Russia, otherwise the real picture is not reflected.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ordered Russian authorities to pay compensation to activists, Alexei Knedlyakovsky (Nekrasov) and Victor Chirikov, for violations of the right to freedom of expression and the right not to be subjected to inhuman treatment; they are figurants in the case about the action at the monument to Felix Dzerzhinsky.

On March 29, Tbilisi hosted a large-scale action in support of the movement "Solidarity with Ukraine", organized by Georgian trade unions. They also voiced out in favour of European integration, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

At the Krasnodar temporary detention centres (known as IVSs), detainees are deprived of walks and telephone communication with relatives due to them by the law; it is cold in the cells; they have no hot water and are poorly lighted, Alipat Sultanbegova, an activist, has complained.

If residents of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are called to participate in the special operation in Ukraine, Georgian authorities should take measures to ensure safety of those who wouldn't take part therein, Elene Khoshtariya, the leader of the oppositional "Droa" Party, has stated.

Shakhin Gadjiev, a member of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), has stated that he has confessed to drug dealing under torture, but the court rejected the defence's motion to investigate the torture.

To die on the path of the Almighty is an honour for every Muslim, Ramzan Kadyrov has declared to Chechen law enforcers in connection with the special operation in Ukraine.

The contract servicemen, Magomedmukhtar Miyatliev from the Karabudakhkent District, and Kansav Ramazanov from the Tabasaran District have perished in Ukraine. Since the start of the military operation in Ukraine, the deaths of at least 60 natives of Dagestan have been officially confirmed.