The Caucasus

Anti-Semitic riots, attacks in Russian Caucasus

CaucasusAn angry mob in Russia's Caucasus republic of Dagestan stormed the airport of regional capital Makhachkala, seking to confront passengers arriving on a flight from Israel. Some held signs reading "Child killers have no place in Dagestan" and "We are against Jewish refugees." The National Guard only showed up hours after rioters had overrun all areas of the airport, including the runway. Clashes then ensued, with several arrested. There was a similar scene in the Dagestani city of Khasavyurt, after reports on social media claimed that "refugees from Israel" were being accommodated at a local hotel. Another such rally was reported from Cherkessk, capital of Karachay-Cherkessia republic. And in Nalchik, capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, an under-construction Jewish cultural center was set ablaze, with "Death to the Yahudi" written in Russian on one wall. (Map: Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection)

Europe
tolstoy

Podcast: Tolstoy would shit

In Episode 132 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg notes that deputy Duma speaker Pyotr Tolstoy, one of the most bellicose supporters of Putin’s Ukraine war, is a direct descendent of Leo Tolstoy—and recently invoked his great-great-grandfather’s “slaughter” of British and French troops during the Crimean… Read morePodcast: Tolstoy would shit

The Caucasus
North Caucasus

Russia: raids on rights defenders in Dagestan

LankaInternational human and civil rights groups urged the UN Human Rights Council to maintain its oversight of the situation in Sri Lanka. The appeal comes ahead of the council's 60th session, where member states' compliance with international human rights treaties is to be reviewed. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists and the Asian Forum for Human Rights & Development called for the renewal of the Sri Lanka Accountability Project, led by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). In their statement, the groups accused Sri Lanka's government of lacking the political will to establish an independent prosecutorial mechanism to ensure accountability for human rights violations and international crimes. The call comes as excavations continue at a mass grave site where hundreds of ethnic Tamils who disappeared during the country's civil war are believed to be buried. (Photo via JURIST)

The Caucasus
North Caucasus

Russia fights ISIS militants in Dagestan?

Russia's National Anti-Terrorist Committee announced that security forces killed three militants who had sworn allegiance to ISIS in a shoot-out in Dagestan.

The Caucasus
North Caucasus

Olympics in Sochi; state terror in Dagestan

With the Winter Olympics underway in Sochi, Russian special forces troops have killed several suspected militants in a series of raids in Dagestan, just across the Caucasus.

North America

Chechen rebels see anomalies in Boston attack

The Kavkaz Center, voice of the Chechen mujahedeen, issued a statement suggesting that the suspects in the Boston attacks were framed in a plot to discredit their struggle.