20130626analyst.pdf

by Emil Souleimanov (06/26/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)

On June 1, Makhachkala’s mayor Said Amirov was arrested and transported to Moscow by a military helicopter. The unexpected arrest of the controversial politician, referred to by many as Dagestan’s godfather, has raised questions both inside and outside this North Caucasian republic about the true motive behind a move that was certainly approved by the Kremlin authorities. Does Amirov’s arrest imply a significant change in Moscow’s strategy toward the region’s most volatile republic, or it is rather the outcome of a tactical move without far-reaching consequences for Dagestan’s politics and security?

by Valeriy Dzutsev (06/12/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Hopes for improvement of the security situation in Dagestan gradually dissipate as attacks intensify in the republic. In spite of an anti-corruption campaign introduced by Dagestan’s new acting president, harsher government tactics appear to be matched by more exasperated attacks by the militants, while new anti-insurgency jamaats are formed to avenge the casualties of terrorist attacks. As an impressive administrative reshuffle ensues in the volatile republic, few substantive reforms are promised that could improve the situation in the long run, such as granting the Dagestani public more influence in the republic’s government.

20130417analyst.pdf

by Emil Souleimanov (04/17/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)

In the early hours of April 11, a group of spetsnaz, Russian elite forces, came under fire in the vicinity of Gimry, a large village located in the Untsukul ditrict of Central Dagestan. During the skirmish that followed, Russian forces took fire from the village of Gimry. This along with the concerns that part of the insurgents might have been based in Gimry prompted law enforcement units to launch a massive crackdown on the village next day.