Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of April 5-11, 2021

Change of the leader in North Ossetia; films about residents of Southern Russia and Southern Caucasus at the “Artdocfest” documentary film festival; Nikol Pashinyan’s meeting with Vladimir Putin and protests in connection with the failed attempt to return home Armenian prisoners of war, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of April 5-11, 2021, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

Change of leader in North Ossetia

On April 9, the Kremlin press service announced the resignation of Vyacheslav Bitarov from the post of the leader of North Ossetia by his own free will. Vyacheslav Bitarov led the republic in the status of acting head since February 2016, and in September 2016, he was elected the head of North Ossetia. Sergei Menyailo was appointed the acting head of North Ossetia. For about five years, Sergei Menyailo was the President Putin’s plenipotentiary in the Siberian Federal District. According to interviewed economists, during the years, when Vyacheslav Bitarov was ruling North Ossetia, the republic’s industry grew, and the unemployment rate was the lowest in Northern Caucasus. The only “faux pas” of Vyacheslav Bitarov as the leader of North Ossetia was marches of COVID dissidents in April 2020, but the events, which took place a year ago, could hardly become a reason for his resignation, Sergei Zhavoronkov believes. The resignation of Vyacheslav Bitarov could be caused by “a low rating and a sluggish intra-elite conflict,” notes Evgeny Minchenko, the president of the “Minchenko Consulting” communication holding.

Films about residents of Southern Russia and Southern Caucasus at “Artdocfest” documentary film festival

A number of films about Southern Russia were screened within the Russian “Artdocfest” documentary film festival. At the same time, the screenings of two films about the Caucasus were cancelled. On April 5, organizers of the film festival announced that because of threats, they had to cancel the premiere of the film “Quiet Voice” about the fate of a Chechen gay. The film director closed his social media account after the threats. The film “Border” about the protests in Ingushetia was also removed from the screening, because the authorities considered it inciting ethnic hatred.

The film “Khan Yu” directed by Zaur Kurazov describes the everyday life in a Chechen village, and the film “25 Years of Solitude” tells people about the love story of an Abkhazian war veteran. The audience also appreciated the unbiased attitude of the film “Under the Same Sun” by Canadian director François Jacob about the relations between Armenians and Azerbaijanis and their confrontation around Nagorno-Karabakh.

Nikol Pashinyan’s meeting with Vladimir Putin and protests in connection with failed attempt to return home Armenian prisoners of war

On April 7, at a meeting with the Russian President in Moscow, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan discussed economic issues, including the construction of a nuclear power plant in Armenia. The Armenian Prime Minister also mentioned that Azerbaijan had not yet given prisoners of war (POWs) to Armenia. Political analysts associate the Armenian Prime Minister’s visit to Moscow with early parliamentary elections to be held in Armenia. The analysts also note that Nikol Pashinyan is trying to enlist support of President Putin.

On April 8-9, Yerevan hosted protest actions held by relatives of prisoners of war, who were detained in Azerbaijan, and soldiers missed in action during the war. The relatives learned about the return of a group of POWs from Baku and gathered at the airport on April 8. After they found that the landing plane was empty, they joined the missing soldiers’ relatives, who gathered for a protest action in front of the building of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Armenia. Military officials met the protesters. However, the latter remained not satisfied with the outcome of the meeting and claimed that the authorities “did not have control over the situation.” Later, Alen Simonyan, Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, said there was no agreement on the return of the prisoners of war on April 8, but there was only hope that the visit of Rustam Muradov, the head of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, “would bring good news.”

Law enforcers’ report on prevention of terror act in Kislovodsk

The FSB reported about the detention in Kislovodsk of a man, who was plotting attacks on law enforcers using improvised grenades, and of three other suspected members of the “Islamic State” (a terrorist organization, banned in Russia by the court, – note of the “Caucasian Knot”). On April 9, the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) reported about the detention of 14 members of an extremist organization in Kislovodsk, where an extremist unit had been operating since 2017. Two of the detained suspects were plotting to blow up the building of the Department for Kislovodsk of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), the ICRF reported.

Cancellation of court’s decisions in case on protest actions in support of Navalny in Elista and Rostov-on-Don

On April 5, the Supreme Court (SC) of Kalmykia closed a case against activist Badma Byurchiev, who refused to recognize as a violation of law the action in support of oppositionist Alexei Navalny in Elista on January 23. The police accused Badma Byurchiev of repeated participation in an unsanctioned action, and on March 11, the court sentenced him to 40 hours of compulsory labour. According to the activist, he was prosecuted for participating in a walk in Elista, which did not require any approval from the authorities. Advocate Semyon Ateev considered the court’s decision of April 5 a unique precedent for the case on protest actions in support of Alexei Navalny.

Besides, on April 5, the court cancelled a fine imposed on journalist Makar Palamarenko after an action held by Navalny’s supporters in Rostov-on-Don on January 31. Makar Palamarenko claimed that he was carrying out an editorial task, but was fined, as the court recognized him as a participant in an unsanctioned action.