A Russian military court sentences a man to seven years for “studying the ideology” of the Russian Volunteer Corps and attempting to join the group. The man was already serving term for terrorism-related offences when he sought to join.

Substack has possibly the worst onboarding process I have ever seen. I blame @jeremymorris.bsky.social for sending me down this rabbit hole!

Novaya Gazeta Europe have another article on Chechen succession planning that can be filed under "distinctly dubious". novayagazeta.eu/articles/202...

Interesting article from Mediazona, using evidence from court cases to claim that the Crocus City Hall attack in March 2024 has had a major impact on terrorism-related prosecutions across the country. en.zona.media/article/2026...

Detailed report here on Russian recruitment in Africa for its war on Ukraine. Kenya and Cameroon lead the way as a source of recruits, and financial incentives are a key driver. Recruitment agencies and local officials facilitate the process lansinginstitute.org/2026/02/23/a...

Who are Russia’s non-Islamist insurgents? Over the last week, I’ve been building out profiles of two groups — the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion — and associated individuals.

Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev has complained about staffing shortages — echoing a long-standing complaint.

Stavropol Kray has introduced administrative fines for social media users who report on drone activity — the latest effort to use drones to censor unfavourable reporting in the region.

The FSB have shot a man accused of planning a terrorist attack in Stavropol on the Day of the Defenders of the Fatherland.

Ramzan Kadyrov has now published a proof-of-life video of his son, Adam, in an attempt to dispel rumours that he had been seriously injured in a car accident in January.

Russian lieutenant-general Vladimir Alekseyev, deputy head of what is widely known as the GRU, was seriously injured in an assassination attempt in Moscow last week.

The health of Adam Kadyrov, son and heir apparent to the Chechen leader, continues to be the subject of speculation. But, in the end, it doesn’t really matter whether he is alive or dead.

Two people have been killed in Dagestan following a shootout with police. According to the official account, the police stopped a suspicious vehicle and killed the occupants after they opened fire. No police were injured and weapons were seized.

Slowly but surely, the Russian Security Research Lab (RSRL) is coming to life. I've been working on this for over a year, but most of the infrastructure is in place...

Vazhnyye istorii now claims Apti Alaudinov has fallen behind in the race to succeed Ramzan Kadyrov as head of Chechnya. In reality, he was always the weaker of the candidates.

Are you interested in debates about decolonisation in Russia? Well, then there's a special issue for you! Problems of Post-Communism have just published our special issue on power and social hierarchies in the North Caucasus.

I have used both ChatGPT and Claude for a variety of business-related tasks. They can be genuinely useful, but sometimes they do things that are very worrying. Exhibit A, which came appended to an actual answer to a question I posed:

Media outlets have reported that Adam Kadyrov, son and heir-aspirant of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, has been involved in an accident — with obvious implications for succession planning.

The Chechen parliament have now confirmed Akhmed Dudayev and Akhmat Kadyrov as deputy prime ministers. No surprise there, but it means they can drop 'acting' from their titles. www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/419...

Chechen Prime Minister Magomed Daudov claims that a total of 67,440 fighters in total have left Chechnya to help wage Russia's war on Ukraine. Of these, 23,774 are volunteers. www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/419...

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s family have expanded their portfolio of business assets further with the acquisition of an ice-cream factory in Novosibirsk.

Five insights from reading @johnalechner.bsky.social's excellent new book on Wagner and the growth of Russian private military companies:

The Chechen authorities have threatened to publicly shame bloggers who portray the republic in a negative light. In reality, this is nothing more than a confirmation of existing policy.

The FSB have accused Ukrainian security services of planning to blow up a railway bridge in Perm Kray. The authorities claim that the Russian citizen detained as a result was tricked by telephone fraudsters into believing he was helping test antiterrorism measures. rapsinews.ru/incident_new...

Some random thoughts on using ChatGPT for research, since @jeremymorris.bsky.social has written a blog post about it and I've also spent a fair bit of time playing around with its capabilities. postsocialism.org/2026/01/08/d...

Which parts of the North Caucasus experienced the most terrorism- and insurgency-related violence in 2025? Every year, I publish an annual report based on a unique open-source incident database that I’ve compiled.

What did terrorism- and insurgency-related violence in the North Caucasus look like in 2025?

Akhmat Kadyrov could be heir to the Chechen throne, but his recent appointment as the republic’s deputy prime minister isn’t the reason he could replace his father, Ramzan, as head.

The Kadyrov family and their allies are regular recipients of a wide range of awards — many of which provoke laughter for being so undeserved. But the logic behind the awards is often missed.

At the end of December 2025, the security services reported on an operation against members of the Batalkhadzhintsy Brotherhood, which resulted in the detention of four brothers and eight others.

Chechnya's Mufti, Salakh-Khadzhi Mezhiyev, has repeated his claim that Russia's war on Ukraine is a "jihad" for all Muslims and a "holy battle against world evil, Satanists and followers of the devil."

The Russian security services have claimed that they prevented a Ukraine-organised terrorist attack in Nalchik at the end of December.

The festive period has seen a flurry of renewed speculation over the health of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

A court has sentenced a resident of Stavropol Kray to nine years in prison, having found him guilty of participating in the 1999 raid on Dagestan organised by Shamil Basayev and Emir Khattab. www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/417...

The Russian Ministry of Defence has confirmed that four drones were shot down over Chechnya. It did not provide further details.

The Southern District Military Court has sentenced a resident of Krasnodar Kray to five and a half years in prison on charges of financing terrorism. The court found him guilty of providing 1,000 rubles to the Islamic State in 2016. www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/417...

Russia’s Justice Ministry has declared Anzor Maskhadov, the son of the late president of the self-proclaimed Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, to be a foreign agent. It did not provide a justification for the decision. www.kavkazr.com/a/syna-byvsh...

A man has been killed in Dagestan after attempting to attack the police. According to officials, the man attacked police officers with a knife at a traffic checkpoint on the outskirts of Derbent. He was killed by return fire www.kavkazr.com/a/urozhenets...

The BBC has reported on yet more human rights violations carried out by Russian private military companies in Mali. It cites eyewitness testimony from civilians and is one of many such reports since Wagner arrived in late 2021. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A resident of Kabardino-Balkaria has been detained on charges of failing to inform the authorities about the plans of a man who attacked police in Nalchik in July 2025.

A resident of Ingushetia has been detained on suspicion of aiding a group of Islamic State militants, led by Amirkhan Gurazhev, that were killed in the republic in Mar 24. The man is accused of providing accommodation, transport, food and medication Mar-Apr 23. www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/417...

The security services in Krasnodar have detained a Ukrainian citizen, accusing him of preparing to blow up a railway line. The man was allegedly operating under instructions from the Ukrainian security services. www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/417...

A resident of Kabardino-Balkaria has been detained on suspicion of treason and preparing a sabotage attack. The security services claim the 34-year-old was acting in coordination with Ukraine. www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/417...

The FSB have detained a priest in Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Kray, accusing him of recruiting parishioners to the Russian Volunteer Corps, which is fighting against Russia in Ukraine. www.kavkazr.com/a/v-novoross...

Chechen opposition group Niyso claims that four members of the same family have been forced to sign contracts with Russia’s Ministry of Defence and go to Ukraine and fight. It was reportedly punishment for the actions of a family member. www.kavkazr.com/a/chechenski...

A resident of Stavropol Kray sentenced in 2023 to 11 years in prison for membership of the Azov Battalion has been declared a political prisoner by human rights group Memorial. The group rejects Russia’s decision to classify Azov as a terrorist organisation. www.kavkazr.com/a/otpravlenn...

Rosoboronekport's CEO, Aleksandr Mikheyev, has estimated the value of his company's African portfolio to stand at $4 billion. He claims the company is active in 46 African countries www.military.africa/2025/11/roso...

A 23-year-old resident of Maykop, Adygea has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for recruiting a foreign citizen to an international terrorist organisation. www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/417...

Six residents of Dagestan have been detained in Makhachkala on charges of preparing attacks on law enforcement personnel. www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/417...

Chechen Prime Minister Magomed Daudov has reported that there are currently 14,000 troops from the republic fighting in Ukraine. He did not specify how many were people from other regions who had passed through the Russian University of Spetsnaz www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/417...