(RBTH) The detention of Makhachkala Mayor Said Amirov has brought Dagestan into the spotlight once again. A veteran Dagestani politician has been taken out of the game in a move that is nothing short of sensational.
Dagestan has been the stage for many conflicts in the post-Soviet era. The largest and most populous republic in the North Caucasus, it is crossed by a number of demarcation lines that split its population along ethnic lines (Dagestan is one of the most ethnically diverse republics in Russia) and religious divides (proponents of Sufism, moderate Salafis and radical jihadists can all be found here).
Makhachkala has also been the battleground for several bureaucratic clans fighting for power within the republic… […]
