News

Baku seeks to show that following the military successes, Azerbaijan is also implementing programmes for the peaceful restoration of territories. Meanwhile, the society meets with enthusiasm the propaganda of victories and achievements.

The protests on January 23 became the largest in the past quarter century, journalist Sergey Smirnov reports. The main motive for participation in the protest actions is social discontent, while the political component has faded into the background, political analyst Yevgeny Minchenko suggests.

In 2020, in Armenia, the number of cases when force had been used against journalists and media had experienced pressure from the authorities increased against the background of the martial law declared in the autumn of 2020 and restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus infection. This was announced by the Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression.

The decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on the claim of Georgia on the actions of Russian militaries in South Ossetia and Abkhazia will in no way affect the status of these regions and the recognition of their independence, political analysts believe.

Employees of budgetary institutions in Chechnya have reported that their bosses are forcing them to register on the Instagram and leave critical comments under negative posts about authorities.

The action held by relatives and friends of Inal Djabiev continues in Tskhinvali, despite the frosty weather. The protesters have noted that several policemen monitor them every day, but there are no conflicts with them. Anatoly Bibilov, the South-Ossetian president, decided to convene an extraordinary parliament session; some MPs of which support Djabiev's relatives and boycott the sessions.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has urgently sent questions to the applicant and Russian authorities about the state protection of Gulli Kazanbieva, a resident of Dagestan, after the release of her ex-husband, who was convicted of beating.

Sofia Pilyukova, the deputy coordinator of Navalny's office in Krasnodar, and four other activists have been arrested for up to five days. Their advocates assert that law enforcers are presenting ordinary activists as protest organizers.

A Chechen authorities' positive opinion will be a weighty argument during the trial of the young man who had beaten up law enforcers during the rally of Navalny's supporters in Moscow, lawyers believe. In exchange for a softer verdict, officials expect public repentance of the young Chechen guy, Svetlana Gannushkina and Ruslan Kutaev believe.

Residents of Nagorno-Karabakh fear that in case if an alternative road is open between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan may achieve the closure of the Lachin corridor. Some of the Nagorno-Karabakh residents doubt that travels through the territory controlled by Azerbaijan would be safe.

The Russian President states that a palace from the journalistic investigation conducted by the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF, recognized in the Russian Federation as a foreign agent) does not belong to him or any of his relatives.

A 14-year-old girl from Derbent, who had been kept for more than three months by the law enforcement bodies in Grozny, returned to her homeland, Instagram users report. Social network users argued about the behaviour of her mother, whom Magomed Daudov declared guilty of her daughter's early marriage to a "terrorist."

After Akhmed Zakaev spoke in support of the suspects killed by law enforcers in the village of Katar-Yurt, Shamsail Saraliev, a delegate to the State Duma from Chechnya, has claimed that the General Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Russia are to achieve the extradition of Akhmed Zakaev from the UK.

The resumption of traffic from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh across the territory controlled by Azerbaijan should be a subject of discussion at the talks on the Karabakh conflict, political analyst Armen Vardanyan believes.

Adam Delimkhanov, an advisor to Ramzan Kadyrov, addressed a native of Chechnya, who got into a fight with law enforcers at a rally in support of Alexei Navalny in Moscow. The Ramzan Kadyrov's advisor called on the Chechen native to renounce the opposition and promised in return that the leader of Chechnya would help him solve problems with the law.

Return of refugees, post-war victims, and search for dead bodies in the Karabakh conflict zone; protest actions held by supporters of Alexei Navalny in Southern Russia; special operation in Chechnya; European Court's judgement on Georgia's claim against Russia, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of January 18-24, 2021, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

During the week from January 18 to January 24, 2021, during the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus, eleven persons suffered in the conflict: six of them perished and five were wounded. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other sources.

The woman from Derbent, who complained to Ramzan Kadyrov about the detention of her 14-year-old daughter, is guilty of the girl's early marriage to a terrorist, Magomed Daudov, Speaker of the Chechen Parliament, has stated.

The forecast about 4000 casualties on the Armenian party during the autumn aggravation of the Karabakh conflict does not inspire confidence, Armenian experts have noted.

The activists of the local Navalny's office were detained in a coffee shop after the protest action; one of the office volunteers was arrested for five days. In Novorossiysk and Armavir, they detained those who shouted slogans or came out with posters, protesters have informed.