Encyclopedia

On February 28, 2026, Israel and the United States began striking Iran. Donald Trump announced the start of a large-scale military operation. In response, Iran launched strikes against Israel and American military targets in the Middle East. The escalation of the military conflict provoked mixed reactions in Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

In June 2026, Armenia will hold its next elections to the National Assembly. Even before the vote date was announced, parties announced their intention to participate in the elections to change the current political situation in the country. The "Caucasian Knot" report discusses the participants and specifics of Armenia's electoral system.

The Baku Military Court concluded the trial of fifteen former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh, detained in the fall of 2023. They were charged with war crimes against Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani people under 20 articles of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code. On February 5, 2026, the court sentenced the defendants to life and other long-term imprisonment terms.

A wave of conflicting reports followed reports of an accident involving Adam Kadyrov's motorcade in Grozny on January 16, 2026. Sources claimed that Adam Kadyrov himself and his entourage were injured; official agencies did not confirm the incident, but Kadyrov Jr. ceased appearing in public.

In recent years, Chechnya has seen at least four serious road accidents involving relatives and close associates of the republic's leader, Ramzan Kadyrov. These accidents, resulting in fatalities and injuries, are accompanied by a lack of official investigations, pressure on witnesses, and attempts to conceal information.

Following Vladimir Solovyov's statement about the admissibility of Russia's military intervention in Armenia, the Yerevan Foreign Ministry issued an official protest, and public organizations demanded an investigation. Armenian politicians viewed the TV presenter's remarks as a threat to sovereignty and an attempt to pressure the country.

On January 13, Ararat Mirzoyan and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met in Washington. The main topic of the talks was the implementation of the "Trump Route for Peace and Prosperity" (TRIPP). The key outcome of the negotiations in Washington was the final approval of the framework program, which explains how the project will be implemented. The document itself was presented the day after the meeting, and the “Caucasian Knot” publishes it without abbreviations:

Chechen Mufti Salakh Mezhiyev called Jews "enemies of Allah," sparking sharp criticism and accusations of anti-Semitism from Jewish organizations and the public. Attempts to justify and edit the publications in Chechnya's official newspaper failed to ease the tension and were deemed unfounded by experts.

Alla Pugacheva spoke about the First Chechen War and Dzhokhar Dudayev in her first major interview after leaving Russia. Ramzan Kadyrov responded to the singer's words, advising her "not to provoke an entire nation."

As part of the Single Voting Day from September 12 to 14, 2025, elections are being held in some regions of southern Russia and the North Caucasus. In Kuban and Rostov Oblast, governors are being elected, and in a number of other regions, city council deputies, heads of cities and towns are being elected.

The “Caucasian Knot" publishes the agreement on the establishment of peace and interstate relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which was initialed by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on August 8, 2025, through the mediation of US President Donald Trump. The meeting of Trump, Aliyev and Pashinyan took place on August 8 in Washington. Following the meeting, Pashinyan and Aliyev also signed a joint declaration. In addition to the agreements between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Trump signed a number of separate memoranda with Aliyev and Pashinyan. These documents are also published by the Caucasian Knot.

The weddings of Ramzan Kadyrov's sons are preceded by public meetings with Vladimir Putin. The celebrations themselves are accompanied by lavish ceremonies and symbolic gestures from government officials. At the same time, the names of the wives of the Chechen leader's sons are not publicly announced.

In May 2025, the leader of Chechnya stated that he asked to be released from the post. However, on the other day, Ramzan Kadyrov claimed that he was misunderstood. Over the past ten years, the leader of Chechnya has announced his desire to resign at least seven times and remained in office.

The Georgian ruling party, having a majority in the parliament, has approved the bill "On Transparency of Foreign Influence" in the first and second readings.

A United Nations mission, led by Vladanka Andreeva, UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan, visited the Karabakh region in Azerbaijan on Sunday, 1 October.

During the six days of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, a lot of rumours and conjectures have appeared. What is really known about the participation of Chechen law enforcers, about their losses and statements of the republic's leadership, – read the details in the reference material of the "Caucasian Knot".

The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, and his entourage have attacked the Yangulbaev family with threats; and on February 2, they organized a rally in central Grozny to condemn the family. How the conflict began, what are Kadyrov's accusations and the Yangulbaevs' answer, as well as what does the oppositional Telegram channel has to do with it – see below in the reference material of the "Caucasian Knot".

Ramadan (Arabic) or Ramazan (Persian and Turkic) is the ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar, the month of fasting (as-saum). Ramadan is the month of spiritual and moral cleaning, as well as of faith and will strengthening. In 2020, Ramadan began at sunset on April 23; the first day of fasting (Uraza) was April 24; and the month will end on May 23.