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141. Chechnya Weekly: WHAT MADE CHECHEN SCHOOLCHILDREN ILL?

Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
North Caucasus Weekly (formerly Chechnya Weekly), The Jamestown Foundation
Abstract:
Leonid Roshal, the Moscow pediatrician sought out by the Beslan hostage-takers as a negotiator and who was awarded by the Russian government for his assistance during the October 2002 Dubrovka theater hostage crisis, said on March 27 that he disagrees with the official explanation for the mass illness of children in Chechnya during the last several months—a nervous disorder—and believes instead that it was caused by poisoning.
Topic:
Security, Civil War, and Ethnic Conflict
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Asia, Chechnya, and Moscow

142. Chechnya Weekly: Abramov Resigns, Kadyrov Consolidates

Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
North Caucasus Weekly (formerly Chechnya Weekly), The Jamestown Foundation
Abstract:
Chechen President Alu Alkhanov said on March 1 that he had accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Sergei Abramov and would name his successor later in the week, the Associated Press reported. Alkhanov first announced Abramov's resignation in a Moscow press conference on February 28, saying that Abramov, who was injured in a car accident in November, was stepping down for health reasons. Abramov, however, denied he was quitting due to poor health, saying instead that he was stepping down to make way for Ramzan Kadyrov, who has been serving as acting prime minister since Abramov's accident. Moreove, while Alkhanov said a successor would be named later in the week, the speaker of the lower house of Chechnya's parliament, Dukuvakha Abdurakhmanov, was all but unequivocal that Kadyrov would become the new prime minister. "I can responsibly state that at the moment there is no more suitable a candidate for the post of Chechen prime minister than Ramzan Kadyrov," gazeta.ru on February 28 quoted Abdurakhmanov as saying. "The People's Assembly [the lower house of Chechnya's parliament] unconditionally supports this candidacy upon its submission by the Chechen president for consideration." According to gazeta.ru, Abdurakhmanov indicated he had no doubt Alkhanov would nominate Kadyrov, who, he said, "has proved that he is not only a warrior but a quickly growing politician capable of solving the most difficult tasks."
Topic:
Security, Civil War, and Ethnic Conflict
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Asia, Chechnya, and Moscow

143. Chechnya Weekly:Ramzan Bans All Things Danish

Publication Date:
02-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
North Caucasus Weekly (formerly Chechnya Weekly), The Jamestown Foundation
Abstract:
Responding to the controversy surrounding a Danish newspaper's publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammed, acting Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov announced to journalists in Moscow that Chechnya would not admit "anything that comes out of Denmark"—including non-governmental organizations.
Topic:
Security, Civil War, and Ethnic Conflict
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Asia, Chechnya, Moscow, and Denmark

144. How Much Do the EU and Russia Care about Iran?

Author:
Patrick Clawson, Walter Posch, and Vladimir Esveev
Publication Date:
04-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
On April 3, 2006, Walter Posch, Vladimir Esveev, and Patrick Clawson addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. Walter Posch is a research fellow at the European Union's Institute for Security Studies in Paris. Vladimir Esveev is a senior associate at the Center for International Security at the Institute for World Economy and International Relations in Moscow. Patrick Clawson, a senior fellow and deputy director for research at The Washington Institute, is coauthor with Michael Rubin of Eternal Iran: Continuity and Chaos (Palgrave, 2005). The following is a rapporteur's summary of their remarks.
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Iran, Washington, and Moscow

145. The Defense Monitor: Dear Friends Colleagues

Publication Date:
11-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Defense Information
Abstract:
Many of you are aware of CDI's 30-year history of research and commentary on U.S. defense topics. You may also have noticed the expanding breadth of our international projects and activities, such as our ground-breaking China Security Bulletin featuring contributions from a retired Chinese general, and a forthcoming report on Russia's defense spending by a Russian scholar who heads our Moscow office. To better reflect our global scope and project diversity, we have created the World Security Institute — which can be thought of as our “holding company.” We felt that this title better describes all of our activities that now encompass a wider definition of “security.”
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Disaster Relief, Government, and Nuclear Weapons
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, China, Europe, Iran, Middle East, Asia, and Moscow

146. Chechnya Weekly: Volume 6, Issue 22

Publication Date:
06-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
North Caucasus Weekly (formerly Chechnya Weekly), The Jamestown Foundation
Abstract:
Pro-Kremlin Chechen President Alu Alkhanov said during a June 6 press conference in Moscow that abductions in Chechnya were declining, with only 23 people kidnapped since the beginning of the year, compared with 168 people abducted during the same period last year. Alkhanov said that while 58 people were initially reported missing during the first five months of 2005, investigations revealed that some of those were in fact in custody as part of criminal investigations. He also said that federal forces were involved in only 5 to 10 percent of all the kidnappings in Chechnya. "Unfortunately kidnapping happens in this region," Reuters quoted Alkhanov as telling reporters. "Nevertheless, these crimes have decreased 10-fold, if not 100-fold."
Topic:
Security and Ethnic Conflict
Political Geography:
Russia, Chechnya, and Moscow

147. Chechnya Weekly: Volume 6, Issue 14

Publication Date:
04-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
North Caucasus Weekly (formerly Chechnya Weekly), The Jamestown Foundation
Abstract:
President Vladimir Putin's special adviser on the North Caucasus region, Aslambek Aslakhanov, told a news conference in Moscow on April 4 that neither the Chechen authorities nor the law-enforcement bodies nor human rights activists know how many people have been kidnapped in Chechnya. “It is a mystery because all those who are involved in kidnappings behave in the same way,” Itar-Tass quoted him as saying. “They wear the same uniforms, they act in the same way, [and] some of them have armored vehicles.” According to the news agency, Aslakhanov did not rule out that members of federal structures operating in the republic and of local power-wielding forces might be involved in kidnappings, and added that ransom might be one of the motives for the abductions. Still, he ins isted that the number of kidnappings has been dropping.
Topic:
Security and Ethnic Conflict
Political Geography:
Russia, Chechnya, Moscow, and North Caucasus

148. Pugwash Newsletter:To the Pugwash Community

Publication Date:
12-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs
Abstract:
Following his death on 31 August 2005 at the age of 96, Sir Joseph Rotblat was remembered and honored at memorial events around the world. From Moscow to Berlin, and Beijing to Washington, DC, Jo's spirit was manifestly with us as the Pugwash community gathered to pay tribute to his life's work to eliminate nuclear weapons and uphold the principle of science serving the good of all humanity.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Beijing, Moscow, and Berlin

149. The Presidential Crisis in Lithuania: Its Roots and the Russian Factor

Author:
Richard J. Krickus
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to address two questions associated with Lithuania's political crisis in 2004. First, what were the domestic circumstances that led to the impeachment of Lithuania's President, Rolandas Paksas? Second, what evidence is there that Russia has played a significant role in the crisis and what are the motives behind Moscow's meddling in Lithuania's internal affairs? Answers to these questions are pertinent to the fate of countries throughout post-communist Europe, given their common history and geography. In addition, they provide the framework for addressing a third question that must be answered by the European Union (EU), NATO and the United States: what can be done about these two-fold threats to the newest members of the Western alliance?
Topic:
Democratization, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Europe, Lithuania, and Moscow

150. Collision Avoidance: U.S.-Russian Bilateral Relations and Former Soviet States

Author:
Eugene B. Rumer
Publication Date:
04-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
The year 2003 was a difficult one in U.S.- Russian relations, and 2004 promises to be even more challenging. Disagreements between Washington and Moscow over Iraq were the most visible in a series of events that also included American concerns about Chechnya, the authoritarian tilt in Russian domestic politics, Russia's fading media freedom, selective prosecution of independent-minded businessmen, and meddling in the internal affairs of its neighbors. Together, these events add up to a trend that spells trouble for the ambitious U.S.-Russian strategic framework inaugurated by President George W. Bush and President Vladimir Putin in 2002. Yet rarely if ever has the need for greater cooperation between the two countries been more urgent than it will be in 2004 and the years to come.
Topic:
International Relations and Security
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Washington, Soviet Union, and Moscow