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On February 16, Ella Pamfilova, the chair of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Russia, arrived in Dagestan. Her meeting with members of political parties, public activists, and authors of complaints to the CEC was held behind closed doors. Not all people who wanted to attend the meeting with Ella Pamfilova succeeded in their wish. Later, Ella Pamfilova held another meeting at which the opposition talked about the violations revealed by them during the election in September 2016.

Staff members of a unit of the military police from Chechnya, who perform combat missions in Syria since last December, may stay there until August. This was reported by an official of the Chechen law enforcement authorities.

On February 16, the "Congress of Karachay People" made an open appeal to the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the Russian Federation in connection with the intention of the leaders of South Ossetia to adopt for the country the official name of "Alania".

At a meeting in Baku held on February 16, Valery Gerasimov and Joseph Dunford, chiefs of general headquarters of Russia and the United States, respectively, agreed on joint measures to improve the safety of the military activities, reduction of tension and risks of incidents. This was reported by the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD).

On February 16, the Krasnodar Regional Court made a decision concerning a complaint filed by Sergey Kuznetsov, a former policeman in Sochi, sentenced for beating builder Pavel Solovyov, and reduced the amount of compensation earlier assigned to the builder from 650,000 down to 350,000 roubles.

In the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), the Central Election Commission (CEC) has announced the decision not to disclose the list of foreign observers at the constitutional referendum until its very day. According to the CEC, prior to the referendum, the main propaganda activities rest with the political forces supporting or opposing the adoption of the new Constitution.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found a violation of the rights of the eleven Azerbaijani citizens, arrested in the course of opposition’s actions in 2010-2014, and obliged the country’s authorities to pay compensation to them totalling to 138,870 euros.

Today, the Baku Court of Appeal (CoA) has rejected the appeal against the refusal of the district court to transfer Faig Amirov, Financial Director of the "Azadlyg" (Freedom) newspaper, under house arrest.

Today, the electoral list of the bloc "Free Democrats" – "Freedom" has been headed by Khachatur Kokobelyan, the leader of "Free Democrats". Gagik Tsarukyan, the founder of the "Prosperous Armenia" Party (PAP), is in the lead of the list of the bloc PAP – "Alliance".

The issues of colonial practices of the Caucasus and Central Asia were discussed at the sitting on "Caucasus and Central Asia: Colonialism Factor in Imperial and Soviet Epochs", which took place on February 15 within the regular scientific-practical seminar "Caucasus in the Past and the Present (Society and Politics, Economy and Culture)”.

Law enforcers have completed measures to search for members of the armed underground in the village of Andi of the Botlikh District. This was reported by the National Antiterrorist Committee (NAC).

The Elista City Court plans to hold the first session on the death of the inmate Dmitri Batyrev in the colony, who, according to investigators, received at least 60 blows with a rubber truncheon. The prisoner’s dock contains seven employees of the local department of the Federal Penitentiary Service (know as UFSIN); five of them are accused of the inmate’s death; and two others – of beating inmates in 2012. The family of Batyrev believes that investigators failed to reveal all those guilty of his death.

Shamil Nurmagomedov, commercial director of one of the Moscow Region companies, a native of Makhachkala, accused of sponsoring the terrorist organization "Islamic state" (IS), banned in Russia, was arrested by the court's decision. Shamil Nurmagomedov tried to return home his brother, who stayed in Syria. This was reported by the defendant's defence.

In Syrian Latakia, the Russian troops have begun to distribute the Armenian humanitarian aid. One of the first institutions, which will receive the aid, will be a school at an ancient church, in which 400 Armenian children study.

On February 14, the conference hall of the Dagestan State Pedagogical University in Makhachkala hosted a presentation of the documentary film "Abandoned Villages of Dagestan" shot by the Dagestani Historical and Geographical Society (DagHGS).

A car belonging to the advocate of Zaur Dadaev, defendant in the case of the Boris Nemtsov's murder, was shelled. This was reported by the defender himself.

Today, the Investigating Department (ID) for Chechnya of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) has cancelled its earlier refusal to open a criminal case against the power agents, who had kidnapped Zhalaudi Geriev, a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, threatened him with death and planted drugs on him, said the advocate Alaudi Musaev.

The Chechen Prosecutor's Office ignores complaints of Tumsu Abdurakhmanov, a resident of the republic, about his unlawful persecution by the Chechen police, Alexander Cherkasov, the Chairman of the Board of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", said in his appeal to the General Prosecutor’s Office (GPO) of Russia.

Azerbaijani authorities have realized the error of their decision to pay allowances to internally displaced persons (IDPs) instead of providing them with utility benefits, the experts, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot", have stated in their comments on the President's decision to restore the benefits.

Ramzan Kadyrov has received from the Moscow Jewish Religious Community a video record of the statement of Pinchas Goldschmidt, who apologized for his words about Muslims-terrorists, Olga Esaulova, the spokeswoman of the community, told the "Caucasian Knot". Kadyrov himself, when speaking about Goldschmidt’s apologies, mistakenly called him the Chief Rabbi of Russia.