Anvar is a 35-year-old man. On 6 January, he was found without documents at the Venice-Mestre station and immediately transferred to the Centre for Identification and Expulsion (CIE) of Gradisca (Gorizia). A case of illegal migration like any other? Only at first sight
Umar Israilov, ex Chechen guerrilla fighter, denounced the Chechen leadership for torture at the European court of human rights. He was subsequently murdered, in January 2009 in Vienna, where he had been granted the status of political refugee. Right now in the Austrian capital the trial regarding his assassination is being held. The Chechen President Kadyrov has been called to testify
Eleven years after the second war with Russia, a series of violent attacks by the Chechen rebels reminds us that war is raging in the northern Caucasus
In Chechnya there is official support for attacks on women when they are considered to have ‘flouted’ Islamic rules by not wearing a headscarf or covering up enough. Tanya Lokshina listened to some of the women’s despairing accounts. From openDemocracy.net
In the eighties Tamara was a teacher of Russian language and literature in Chechnya. Since the year 2000 she has had to cope with not only the disappearance of her husband but also breast cancer, an illness with a particularly high incidence in Chechnya after the recent wars
Last August, the youth forum “Mashuk 2010”, the first summer camp promoted by Moscow's government and solely devoted to young people from the Russian Caucasus, was held in Pyatigorsk, an old spa town in Russia’s North Caucasian Federal District. The event focused on training for cultural interaction and support to youth entrepreneurship
“Pervyj Kavkazskij” (First Caucasus). It is the name of the satellite channel in Russian, financed by the Georgian government and dedicated to all the people of the Caucasus, but not only. Transmission problems, lack of qualified reporters and the opposition of “Gazprom Media” do not seem to be enough to make Tbilisi back down
Milana used to breed nestlings. Then her village was bombed and she was forced to flee to Ingushetia with her nestlings. Had she let failures dishearten her, however, she would not have been a true Chechen businesswoman. Majnat Kurbanova tells her readers yet another true story from Chechnya
Thousands of young people from all over the world took part in a camp organised by the Russian government. A portrait of today's Russia, a country looking for openness and international recognition, where development and innovation are strictly tied to the Putin-Medvedev governmental “tandem”. A reportage
The Kremlin's new regional approach to the northern Caucasus, based on competition and economic development, includes young people as key actors. The strategy blends Soviet experiences with capitalist values
Lula is an actress to the bone, “flirtatious, fond of cosmetics, she pays attention to her gait and the tone of her voice”. A true life story from Chechnya, told by Mainat Kourbanova for the readers of Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso
Perspectives on the development of Abkhazia, a territory whose self-proclaimed independence has not been widely recognised at the international level, the country's strained dialogue with Tbilisi, and its relations with Russia and the EU. An interview with Maxim Gvinjia, de facto foreign minister of Abkhazia
The citizens of Vladikavkaz are protesting against Elektrozink, a metallurgical factory known for its toxic emissions. Worries for health and environment, though, clash with the difficulties of closing the main plant in the region that gives work to over 2000 people
On 19 February, Ingushetia’s President Yunus-bek Yevkurov held a meeting with local university students. When responding to students’ questions, Yevkurov never tried to deny that this small republic in the Northern Caucasus is stricken with problems
Russia and European Union member states have shown different approaches to the South Caucasus. Finding some common ground with Russia might help resolve the conflicts in the region
Osservatorio met Grigory Shvedov, the editor-in-chief of 'Caucasian Knot,' the largest news outlet dealing with the region, to talk about freedom of the media, the role of international organisations in the Caucasus and his web portal
The organization "Russian Congress of Caucasian Peoples" was founded by members of different nationalities in the region that have united to guard their own interests, defend themselves from discrimination and for the good of Russia
Two important Chechen politicians in exile, Bukhari Baraev and Akhmed Zakaev, have announced, one right after the other, their intentions to return to Chechnya soon
A recently published report from Russian-language news web site, Kavkazskij Uzel, or Caucasian Knot, has summarized in numbers and statistics last year's conflict in the North Caucasus. Review and commentary by Osservatorio Caucaso.
Assassinations and violence in the Russian republics of Ingushetia and Dagestan are on the rise. Victims also include two journalists who opposed corrupt politicians and militant Islamic radicals. These are their stories.
November was rich with events, which might have signaled important dynamics in the region, but closer analysis suggests that the effect of the recent geopolitical events on the "status quo" is rather limited
Crimea and Transnistria after the August war between Georgia and Russia. Political and ethnic conflict in the post-Soviet space; a conversation with Andrea Graziosi, professor of contemporary history at the University of Naples Federico II
