Instability in the North Caucasus and the Political Implications for the Russian-Chechen War

Over the past few years the various forms of warfare in Chechnya, including guerrilla operations against Russian federal forces, suicide bombings and assassinations directed against the pro-Russian Chechen government, and terrorist attacks against civilians have spread increasingly to other parts of the North Caucasus. This trend was highlighted by the attacks on October 13, 2005, in Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria. Dozens of local guerrillas in Nalchik laid siege to garrisons, police stations, prisons, administrative buildings, and the airport, leaving at least 140 people dead. This event, dramatic though it was, was merely the latest in a long series of incidents that are threatening to plunge the whole of the North Caucasus into violent turmoil. […]

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