1 oktober 2004
- Conscripts will not be sent to Chechnya: The autumn conscription period has been launched
today. Vremya novostei reports that due to numerous conscription deferrals, only every tenth citizen of
conscription age will serve in the army. “Conscripts will not be sent to Chechnya”, proclaim Gazeta and Izvestia
in one voice. The papers quote colonel-general Vasily Smirnov as saying that beginning next year, not a single
conscript will serve in Chechnya (Vremya novostei, Gazeta, Izvestia, Kommersant).
4 oktober
2004
- Moscow police chief denies remarks on Klebnikov case: Moscow police chief Pronin
denied on Friday that he had announced the arrest of two Chechens earlier in the week linking them to the murder
of Forbes editor Paul Klebnikov (All media).
5 oktober 2004
- PACE session
to discuss terrorism, Chechnya: Nezavisimaya gazeta reports that terrorism and Chechnya are among major issues
to be discussed at the PACE session which opened in Strasbourg yesterday. On Thursday, three reports on North
Caucasus are to be presented. It is expected that Chechen President Alu Alkhanov and CoE Human Rights
Commissioner Alvaro Gil-Robles will take part in the debate on Chechnya. Noting that the Russian authorities are
currently reacting in a milder way to the CoE documents on North Caucasus, the paper quotes head of the Russian
delegation in PACE Konstantin Kosachev as praising two of the three PACE reports on North Caucasus – the ones on
the political situation in Chechnya and on the refugee problem. In Kosachev’s view, they give better assessment
than documents adopted at previous PACE sessions. Interfax reports that PACE voted yesterday to include
Russian-Georgian relations in the agenda for its Thursday debates. Gazeta points to the importance of Russian
proposals that are to be discussed during the PACE debates on terrorism. It is proposed, in particular, to
spread to Russia the validity of the European warrant for the arrest of terrorists and drug dealers (Interfax,
Nezavisimaya gazeta, Gazeta, Kommersant).
- Chechen President to be sworn in today: The
recently elected Chechen President Alu Alkhanov will be sworn in today. The location of the inauguration
ceremony is not revealed for security reasons. Interfax quotes Chechen Prime Minister Sergey Abramov as saying
that a new Chechen government will be formed within next week. Trud carries an interview with Alkhanov
(Interfax, Nezavis)
- Danish Ambassador called to Russian Foreign Ministry: Interfax reports
that Danish Ambassador to Russia Lars Vissing was called to the Russian Foreign Ministry yesterday where he was
told that the Danish authorities who are tolerant of accomplices to Chechen terrorists are responsible for any
possible consequences of their actions (Interfax).
6 oktober 2004
- Alu
Alkhanov sworn in as Chechen President: Alu Alkhanov was sworn in as the Chechen President in an official
ceremony in Grozny yesterday. The media point to unprecedented security measures at the ceremony, which took
place five months after the assassination of Alkhanov’s predecessor, Akhmad Kadyrov. Vremya novostei adds that
the inauguration ceremony did not look “pompous” and was held at a lawn near the government buildings.
Commenting on the strengths and weaknesses of the new Chechen President, RIA Novosti emphasizes that although
Alkhanov does not have Akhmad Kadyrov’s authority, “he can do much more” than his predecessor, as even during
the election campaign, he set himself the tasks avoided by all other candidates: to unite Chechnya, which has
been torn apart by tribal disagreements, and to work on fundamental changes to centuries-old traditions that are
holding back Chechnya’s development Novye Izvestia stresses that it was Akhmat Kadyrov’s son Ramzan who
presented President’s ID to Alkhanov. The paper interprets it as an indication that Ramzan Kadyrov is a likely
Kremlin’s nominee for the Chechen President in 2008 – when he reaches the eligible age. (All media).
- PACE political committee in general supportive of Russian resolution on terrorism: (i) The
PACE Political Affairs Committee approved yesterday a resolution drafted by the Russian delegation on fighting
terrorist challenges. However, according to head of the Russian delegation Konstantin Kosachev, the committee
dropped provisions from the resolution on the need to fight people who support terrorist actions by political,
financial, material and media means. Kommersant adds that a major difference in the approach of Russian and a
number of PACE delegates came to surface when they discussed whether democratic freedoms or the fight against
terrorism are of primary importance. An article in Vremya novostei is entitled “Is the fight against terrorism a
secondary affair?” (ii) Vremya novostei notes that Deputy Prosecutor General Sergey Fridinsky described as
“biased” the data on kidnappings in Chechnya, presented in a PACE report.
7 oktober 2004
- PACE to discuss Chechnya and Russian-Georgian relations today: The PACE session will focus on
the discussion of the situation in Chechnya and Russian-Georgian relations today. Gazeta stresses that the
Assembly’s draft resolution on Chechnya calls for a political solution to the Chechen issue and also claims that
Russian military servicemen supply weapons for Chechen militants. In the paper’s view, the Assembly is unlikely
to adopt amendments to the resolution that the Russian delegation plans to propose. Vremya novostei believes
that “the total score” in the ideological fight for Chechnya depends on the impression that visiting Chechen
President Alkhanov will produce on the Assembly today. “It seems that the first clash with European democrats
completed in favour of the new Chechen President”, comments the daily on yesterday’s presentation by Alkhanov at
the Political Affairs Committee of PACE (Gazeta, Vremya novostei, Novye Izvestia).
8 oktober
2004
- PACE discusses Chechen issue: Today’s dailies assess PACE debates on Chechnya that
took place in Strasbourg yesterday with varying degree of optimism. Nezavisimaya gazeta argues that the tone of
the adopted resolutions was “more than tough”. Kommersant notes, however, in an article entitled “Alu Alkhanov
failed exams” that the Russian delegation “liked” two out of three resolutions – on the political situation and
on the refugee issue, although PACE deputies rejected an important Russian amendment on the recognition of
Chechen President Alkhanov’s legitimacy. The third resolution, on human rights, gave rise to heated debates
between the Russian delegation and PACE rapporteur Rudolf Bindig, says Kommersant, and the majority of 20
amendments proposed by the Russian delegation to Bindig’s resolution were rejected by PACE delegates. “PACE did
not recognise the legitimacy of elections in Chechnya but is prepared to cooperate with Alu Alkhanov – this is
the controversial result of the Chechen President’s visit to Strasbourg”, comments Izvestia. Gazeta presents the
most positive picture of yesterday’s discussions in Strasbourg, noting that the hearings on the Chechen issue
were, on the whole, “favourable for Russia”. The daily quotes FC member Mikhail Margelov as saying that “for the
first time since 1999, Europe has acknowledged that Vladimir Putin has a political plan on Chechnya”. The daily
also points to the importance of the adopted amendment that casts doubt on the non-involvement of Chechen
separatist leaders in the recent terrorist attacks in Russia. Vremya novostei reports on the issue under the
headline “PACE resolution turned out to be better than expected”. “Alkhanov seeded hope”, reads a title in
Rossiyskaya gazeta (All media).
11 oktober 2004
- Two militants from
Basayev’s group killed in Ingushetia: An operation against members of a group of militants controlled by Chechen
warlord Shamil Basayev has been completed in Nazran. Two militants were killed in the fighting (Vremya novostei,
Interfax).
13 oktober 2004
- European Court to hear Chechen residents’
complaints: The European Court of Human Rights will hold its first open session tomorrow to hear complaints
filed by six Chechen residents against Russia. The plaintiffs who lost their relatives, were injured or lost
property seek compensation for moral and material damage and demand an investigation of their cases by the
Russian authorities, says Gazeta (Interfax, Gazeta).
14 oktober 2004
-
Russia welcomes Finland’s decision to close Chechen separatists’ website: Interfax quotes the Russian Foreign
Ministry’s Information and Press Department as saying that Russia welcomes Finland’s decision to shut down the
Kavkaz-Centre website which belongs to Chechen separatists. According to the Ministry, “such websites are an
information weapon of international terrorists” (Interfax).
- Chechen terrorists have
reportedly penetrated in the U.S.: The media comments on the Washington Times’ report, which said that U.S.
security officials were investigating an intelligence report that 25 Chechen terrorists secretly crossed the
Mexican border into the U.S. in July (Izvestia, The Moscow Times, Vremya novostei).
15
oktober 2004
- Strasbourg court starts hearing of Chechen cases: The Strasbourg Human Rights
Court started hearing complaints by six Chechen residents yesterday. Kommersant quotes Russian representative,
Pavel Laptev, as saying that the complaints should not be accepted, as the plaintiffs had not exhausted all
effective means of legal defence inside Russia (Kommersant, Interfax, The Moscow Times).
-
Sergey Abramov appointed Chechen premier: Sergey Abramov has been re-appointed Chechen Prime Minister. Interfax
quotes Abramov as saying that there will be no radical changes in the composition of the Chechen government
(Interfax).
18 oktober 2004
- An attack on Chechen emissary?: Interfax
quotes FSB spokesman Boris Labusov as saying that incidents that happened at the houses of Chechen separatist
emissary Akhmed Zakayev and former Russian security officer Alexander Litvinenko could be their own attempts to
attract attention to themselves. According to media reports, Molotov cocktails were thrown into Zakayev’s and
Litvinenko’s houses in the early hours of Friday (Interfax, Kommersant, Gazeta, The Moscow Times, Rossiyskaya
gazeta).
- Ramzan Kadyrov re-appointed first deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya: Ramzan
Kadyrov has been re-appointed first deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya. Interfax quotes Chechen PM Abramov as
praising Kadyrov’s managerial potential (Interfax).
- Ethnic Chechens, Ingush students
expelled from North Ossetian universities: Novye Izvestia (front page) reports that hundreds of ethnic Chechen
and Ingush students were expelled from North Ossetian universities falling victim of escalating tensions in the
region over the Beslan hostage tragedy.
20 oktober 2004
- FM Lavrov meets
EU Troika: Several dailies carry articles reporting on yesterday’s meeting of FM Lavrov with the EU ministerial
Troika in the Hague. Izvestia reports in an article entitled “Russia and the EU decided not to dramatise
relations” that Lavrov called on his EU partners not to ‘dramatise’ relations as the EU and Russia are strategic
partners. The paper further notes that Lavrov, however, did not forget “to remind the strategic partner” that
Russia, Lithuania and the EU must find a solution to the Kaliningrad transit of goods issue as soon as possible,
while Latvia and Estonia should defer to the judgement by the OSCE and the CoE on the rights of national
minorities. “Moscow expects real actions rather than assurances from Brussels by the November EU-Russia summit”,
adds the daily. Noting that yesterday’s talks focused on the “strategic partnership” accord, The Moscow Times
stresses that one point of contention has been how far the EU would be able to interfere in events in areas that
“Russia deems its own turf”, such as Moldova, Chechnya and Georgia. Lavrov left for Prague yesterday for talks
with Czech leaders (Izvestia, The Moscow Times, Kommersant, Vremya novostei, Nezavisimaya gazeta).
- Ramzan Kadyrov appointed Kozak’s advisor: Ramzan Kadyrov, the first deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya
and the son of the late Chechen President, was yesterday appointed as an adviser to Putin’s envoy in the
Southern Federal District, Dmitry Kozak. In Kommersant’s view, this appointment will make Kadyrov the “most
influential person in Chechnya”, as he will be both number two in the Chechen government and a representative of
the federal authorities. However, according to Vremya novostei, the appointment cannot be interpreted as a new
step in Ramzan Kadyrov’s political career but was rather aimed at satisfying his growing political ambitions. At
the same time, the paper does not exclude that Kadyrov’s appointment could also be an attempt to restrict his
activities and influence in Chechnya (Kommersant, Vremya novostei, Rossiyskaya gazeta).
21
oktober 2004
- Aslan Maskhadov prepared for talks with soldiers’ mothers: Kommersant reports
that Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov has agreed to meet representatives of the Soldiers Mothers’
Committees that proposed discussing the Chechen settlement issue. Representatives of the Chechen authorities are
convinced, however, that it is up to prosecutors rather than NGOs to pursue a dialogue with Maskhadov, adds the
daily (Kommersant).
New hearing of Chechen civilians’ killing opens in Rostov-on-Don: A Rostov-on-Don
military court opened a preliminary hearing yesterday in the retrial of four military officers accused of
killing six Chechen civilians. A jury had acquitted the officers but the Supreme Court ordered a re-trial (The
Moscow Times, Izvestia, Vremya novostei).
25 oktober 2004
- Rally held in
Moscow to protest against the war in Chechnya: The Moscow Times (front page) reports that at least 2,000 people
gathered on Moscow’s Pushkin square on Saturday to call for an end to the war in Chechnya. The paper notes that
it was one of the largest antiwar protests in years and it also provided a rare public platform for broader
criticism of President Putin’s rule. Interfax, however, puts the number of protestors between 600 and 1000,
saying they were mostly journalists. Nezavisimaya gazeta reports on the issue under the headline “The Moscow
meeting against the war in Chechnya unexpectedly turned out to be mass and anti-government” (Interfax, The
Moscow Times, Nezavisimaya gazeta).
26 oktober 2004
- Chechen President:
treaty on division of powers with federal centre to be ready soon: Gazeta carries a front-page article entitled
“Alkhanov asks nothing but for oil revenues”. The article quotes Chechen President Alu Alkhanov as saying that
the draft treaty on the division of powers between the federal centre and the republic will be ready this week.
According to the daily, the Chechen President no longer insists on financial independence of the republic,
wanted by his predecessor Akhmat Kadyrov, but hopes that the Kremlin will give Chechnya its oil revenues. In
Vremya novostei’s view, however, this would make Chechnya politically more independent than any other Russian
region (Gazeta, Vremya novostei, Kommersant, Novye Izvestia).
- Chechen administration ready
for any contacts for the sake of peace: Speaking at the first press conference in Moscow after his official
inauguration, Chechen President Alu Alkhanov said that his administration is ready to negotiate with
representatives of leaders of armed bands, noting, however, that talks with Maskhadov and Basayev are
impossible. Sharing its impression on Alkhanov’s press conference, Vremya novostei (front page) notes that
unlike the radically minded Chechen Vice-Premier Ramzan Kadyrov, President Alkhanov has repeatedly underlined
that while fighting against bandits, “the authorities must not apply bandits’ methods” (Vremya novostei,
Nezavisimaya gazeta, Itar-Tass, Interfax, The Moscow Times).
- The Moscow Times briefly
reports in an article entitled “EU Chechnya aid” that the EU will provide €10 million this year in aid for the
victims of the conflict in Chechnya.
27 oktober 2004
- Opposition leaders
targeted in adverse publicity campaign: Kommersant reports on the appearance in Moscow metro trains of leaflets
depicting controversial businessman Boris Berezovsky, Duma deputy from the Rodina block Sergey Glazyev as well
as liberal opposition leaders Irina Khakamada and Vladimir Ryzhkov next to Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev. The
leaflet carries the title “Participants in the talks on Russia’s extermination”. According to the daily,
Khakamada’s press service linked the appearance of the leaflets to the upcoming constituent congress of a new
party to be set up by Irina Khakamada (Kommersant).