Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of June 16-22

Preliminary voting outcomes at municipal elections in Georgia; armed clashes in Russian-Ukrainian border in Rostov Region and increase of the number of refugees from Ukraine in Southern Russia; next round of Geneva discussions on security in Transcaucasia, – look these and other news about major events in the Caucasus during the week of June 16-22, 2014, in the review prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

Preliminary outcomes of municipal elections in Georgia

According to preliminary outcomes of the June 15 local elections in Georgia, the ruling coalition "Georgian Dream" is in the essential lead at elections to Sakrebulos (local governments). It is already known that the second round of mayoral elections will be held in eight cities in Georgia; and heads will be elected in 13 districts. The Central Election Commission (CEC) appointed for June 29 re-elections in seven constituencies, were the outcomes were invalidated. The CEC does not exclude the holding of the second round of elections on July 12-13. Experts believe that candidates from the ruling coalition will be the second round favourites.

Observers, who came from several countries, the European Union and the Council of Europe report that the municipal elections in Georgia passed quietly, with a minimum number of violations. However, observers from local NGOs revealed facts of attacks on polling stations and frauds; some of them received threats.

Armed clashes on Russian-Ukrainian border in the Rostov Region and increasing number of refugees from Ukraine in Southern Russia

On June 20 and at night on June 21, armed slashes occurred near the checkpoints "Uspenka", located in the Donetsk Region of Ukraine on the border of Russia's Rostov Region, as well as "Dolzhansky" and "Novoshakhtinsk." During the shootout near "Dolzhansky", Russian territory was shelled. The checkpoint "Novoshakhtinsk" was damaged by mines; and a Russian customs employee was severely wounded. At night on June 21, a group of armed men also attacked the checkpoint "Donetsk" on the border with Ukraine; and there are wounded persons among Ukrainian border guards. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine treated the incident as provocation.

The population of Ukrainian refugees in Russia is on the rise. As stated on June 19 by Alexander Drobyshevsky, an official representative of the Russia's Ministry for Emergencies (MfE), by that moment Russia had accommodated 19,000 Ukrainian citizens; and over 11,000 of them are in the regions of the Southern Federal District (SFD) – mostly in the Rostov Region.

Next round of Geneva debates on security in Transcaucasia end before term

On June 18, Geneva hosted the 28th round of discussions on security in Transcaucasia. At the talks, the Abkhazian and South-Ossetian delegations expressed their protest against the adoption on June 5 by the UN General Assembly a draft resolution brought in by Georgia on refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Stressing that "the politicization of the refugees' issues undermines this track within the Geneva debates," the members of the Second Working Group on Humanitarian Affairs quitted the talks. The next round of the debates, which were launched after the warfare in South Ossetia in August 2008, was appointed for October 7-8.

Some candidates for regional leaders defined in the Stavropol Territory, Kalmykia and Astrakhan Region

The last week saw the appearance of some contenders for the posts of heads of some regions of Southern Russia, where elections will be held on September 14. Thus, in Kalmykia, Alexei Orlov, a candidate from the "Edinaya Rossiya" (United Russia), and Nikolai Nurov, a nominee from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF), have submitted their documents to the republic's election commission. In the Stavropol Territory, Alexander Chernogorov, the ex-governor, has been nominated for the post of the territorial head, while the "Edinaya Rossiya" has nominated the current Acting Governor Vladimir Vladimirov. On June 19, it became known that Oleg Shein will run for the post of the Governor of the Astrakhan Region on behalf of the "Edinaya Rossiya".

Volgograd toughens punishment to owner of "Bellagio" cafe, where people were wounded by explosion

On June 18, the judicial board on criminal cases of the Volgograd Regional Court tightened the sentence of Andrei Koshkadaev, the owner of the "Bellagio" cafe, where the explosion on February 14, 2012, caused burns of 25 people. According to investigators, the cause of the fire was in the gas heater, which was not intended for indoor use. On March 18, 2014, Koshkadaev was sentenced to two years of general regime colony on accusation of breaking the fire safety rules and regulations on storing goods and products.

KChR: court passes guilty verdict in putsch preparation case

On June 19, the Supreme Court of the Karachay-Cherkessian Republic (KChR) announced the verdict in the case of preparation for a violent seizure of power, where there were 13 defendants. According to investigators, in 2008-2011 they teamed up into two religious-extremist paramilitary groupings. The defence stated at the trial that the accusations were far-fetched, and the defendants were innocent. However, all of the defendants were found guilty and received sentences ranging from 6 years and 10 months to 12 years in a high security colony.

See earlier reports: "Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of June 9-15", "Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of June 2-8", "Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of May 26 to June 1".