Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of June 17-23

Riots occur on the border of the Voronezh and Volgograd Regions, organized by people unhappy with development of nickel deposits; meeting of officials of Georgia and South Ossetia, who discussed the situation in border areas; trial of Ali Taziev with participation of the head of Ingushetia, with an attempt on whom the defendant is charged, – look these and other events in the Caucasus in the review of the week of June 17-23, 2013, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

Protests against nickel extraction on the border of the Voronezh and Volgograd Regions turned into riots

On June 22, the Novokhopyorsk District of the Voronezh Region, located on the border with the Volgograd Region, a rally was held against extraction of nickel from the Elanskaya deposit, attended by more than 4500 people. After the rally in Novokhopyorsk, unidentified persons smashed the camp of geologists and set fire to the drilling rigs for nickel extraction. There were several thousand arsonists, including activists of nationalist organizations of the Rostov and Volgograd Regions and Krasnodar Territory, eyewitnesses report. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has stated that 25 persons were detained on suspicion of assaulting the camp of geologists near the KhopyorRiver; later, all of them were released on recognizance not to leave.

The incident resulted in a statement made by Vladimir Markin, the spokesman of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF), who promised to check the legality of nickel developments near Novokhopyorsk and the actions of local officials, as well as the reasons that had forced protesters to go to such drastic measures. It should be noted here that on May 22, 2012, it was announced that the right to develop the deposits had been granted to the Mednogorsk Copper and Sulphur Combine, a part of the LLC "UMMC-Holding". This immediately led to mass protests from residents of the Volgograd and Voronezh Regions. One of the recent protest actions was a motor rally organized in the Volgograd Region against nickel developments near the KhopyorRiver, which ended on June 17 in a rally held in the city of Uryupinsk.

Delegates of Georgia and South Ossetia discuss situation in border areas

On June 21, the Georgian village of Ergneti hosted the 35^th meeting within the framework of the Mechanisms for Prevention of and Reaction to Incident (MPRI) with participation of officials from Georgia and South Ossetia, who discussed seven agenda points related to the situation in the border areas and release of detainees by both parties. IN particular, the parties agreed to transfer a Georgian citizen Rostom Sosiashvili, sentenced to two conditional years in South Ossetia, to his relatives. Delegates of the both parties in conflict noted a decrease of the count of detainees on both sides and a positive dynamics of the work within the humanitarian format of meetings within the MPRI.

Ali Taziev states his non-involvement in attempt on head of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Evkurov

On June 20, at a session of the North Caucasus District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don, where the case of Ali Taziev, one of the leaders of "Imarat Kavkaz", is considered, the head of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Evkurov testified as the victim. He described the circumstances of the attempt on him in 2009, of organization of which Ali Taziev is accused, and called on the defendant to repent. Taziev refused to plead guilty. During a break in the session Evkurov could speak with the defendant in private. After that, Evkurov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that Ali Taziev gave him his word that he had nothing to do with the above attempt, and said that he should have been better killed at detention. Also Evkurov urged Taziev to address members of illegal armed formations (IAFs) inviting them to surrender, and promised that if this was done, it would benefit the defendant's fate.

UEFA again forbids FC "Anji" to take European cup matches in Dagestan and Northern Caucasus

On June 18, the Working Group for Emergencies of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) decided that in the 2013-2014 season, no matches under the auspices of the UEFA would be held in Dagestan and Northern Caucasus. This decision was based on a number of circumstances and warnings made by governments of a number of countries. The decision will remain in force until a notice of termination; while the Makhachkala "Anji" Football Club (FC) has to offer, before June 30, an alternative stadium for home matches of the 2013-2014 Europa League, the release of the UEFA reports. Konstantin Remchukov, the chairman of the board of directors of the "Anji", has treated the UEFA's decision as political. Ramazan Gaziev, the leader of the movement of "Anji" fans named "Wild Division", called the UEFA's decision "strange", recalling that the 2014 Winter Olympic Games will be held in Sochi, in the same region, while the recent European Youth Football Championship was held in a "more problematic region – in Israel."

Because of ASF, Volgograd Region is under state of emergency

On June 17, microbiology experts confirmed the diagnosis of "African Swine Fever" (ASF) in several animals, which died on June 13 in private households in the farmstead of Mazinsky and the village of Nekhaevskaya of the Nekhaevsky District of the Volgograd Region. The district was put under the state of emergency. According to preliminary data, the total number of animals to be killed is 702. Sergey Bozhenov, the regional governor, has signed a resolution on payment of compensation to the suffered households. Let us note here that the state of emergency caused by detection of ASF is on also in the Verkhnedonskoy and Sholokhov Districts of the Rostov Region, where on June 11 they finished slaughtering pigs – 1131 animals in total.