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Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former head of "Yukos", recently released from colony, has stated that Russia's territorial integrity is a priority and it is necessary to prevent separation of the North-Caucasian regions from the rest of the country. While in prison, he was recognized by human rights activists to be a political prisoner.

Today, at a session of the National Assembly, the parliamentary majority has voted for the ratification of the gas agreements with Russia. The oppositional MPs did not vote and left the hall in protest.

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has stated that Russian authorities should immediately stop their pressure on the activists of the movement for Circassians' rights, who criticize the preparations for the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

The Prosecutor's Office of Dagestan has reported today that Sultanat Krymova, a local resident, was sentenced by the Kaspiisk City Court to two years of colony-settlement for possessing the so-called "suicide bomber's (shahid's) belt".

Last night, a Nigerian citizen, who studies at one of the higher educational institutions of Volgograd, got a knife wound. This was reported by a source from the law enforcement bodies of the region.

Staff members of the Dagestani secret services have resolved the murder of Gadji Aliev, Imam of the village mosque in Dagestan, committed a year ago. This was reported by an official from the law enforcement bodies of the republic.

On December 20, a 23-year-old resident of Chelyabinsk, who was called for military service in this November, escaped from the military unit of Vladikavkaz, claiming moral humiliation and abuse occurring there. This was reported on December 22 by Valeria Prikhodkina, Principal of the Chelyabinsk "Schools of Conscript", who referred to the soldier's sister.

During the week of December 16-December 22, 2013, at least 25 persons suffered in the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus. Of them, 11 persons were killed, and 14 persons were wounded. These are the results of calculations made by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

None of the resonance murders of journalists in Dagestan has been resolved. This was stated by relatives and colleagues of the killed journalists at the evening of memory held in Makhachkala.

Today, three staff members of the criminal investigation department tried to bring to the police station Natalia Kalinovskaya, an assistant to the MP of the State Duma of the Russian Federation and the Chair of the Territorial Self-Administration (known as TOS) "Psou".

The journalist Nikolai Yarst will not be covered by the amnesty launched on December 18, since he had been sentenced under the Article classified as "grave". This was reported by Marina Dubrovina, the journalist's advocate.

Restrictions have been imposed in the territory of Chechnya on the sale of alcoholic beverages during the New Year holidays. This was reported by local residents. The republic's authorities deny the introduction of any such measures.

In Sochi, residents of Chebrikov Street complain about the inaction of the authorities and public services, which for more than three months fail to take proper measures to eliminate the accident at the sewage and water-supply pipes. According to Sochi residents, several houses became virtually uninhabitable.

Today, about 200 people gathered at a rally organized in the city of Maikop by the Adyg branch of the Labour Party of Russia. The protesters demanded to revise certain provisions of the pension reform and punish the officials responsible for preparation thereof, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

Victims of political repressions from the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR), who were deported in 1944 from their residential areas to Central Asia are addressing their lawsuits first to their district courts and then – the appellate instance for recovery of their moral harm from the state. After being rejected, they file complaints to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

Rostov journalists have set up a commission for meeting the Governor of the Rostov Region Vasily Golubev on the issue of persecution of their colleagues. This was decided at a rally held today for the freedom of speech, said Vladislav Ryazantsev, one of the participants.

On December 20, in Dagestan, power agents detained Magomed Dabaev, a resident of the village of Novy Agachaul, Karabudakhkent District of Dagestan, whose whereabouts are still unknown, according to his relatives. Dabaev was detained on suspicion of aiding militants, said a source from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).

The advocates of the journalist Sergey Reznik, who was sentenced to one and a half years in prison for false denunciation, bribery and insulting a power official, have filed a complaint against the decision of the Pervomaiskiy District Court of Rostov-on-Don, Yury Kastrubin, one of the advocates, said on December 20. Another appeal is prepared by the convict himself.

The investigator Vadim Mukov has broken the presumption of innocence by voicing accusations of the suspects of killing Ansar Tebuev, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Karachay-Cherkessian Republic (KChR) on air of the TV show "Man and Law" of Channel One, the defendants' advocates assert.

The Department of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) for the Republic of Ingushetia has instituted a criminal case on the video entitled "Ingushes are shame of the Caucasus" which was posted on the "YouTube" on the Internet.