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Reporters Without Borders:
Society
Reporters Without Borders: "Not a Single Independent Media Source Left in Azerbaijan"
3 July 2025

On May 2, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published its annual report on global press freedom. For the first time since 2002, when the annual ranking began, the press freedom situation was rated as difficult worldwide. The report's authors believe economic pressure is the main factor behind the global decline in the Press Freedom Index.

Politics
"Holy Struggle": A Conflict Between Secular and Clerical Authorities Erupts in Armenia
3 July 2025

On June 25, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that an attempted coup by the "criminal-oligarchic clergy" had been thwarted. Following house searches, 16 people were detained, including Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the leader of the "Holy Struggle" movement, who criticized the government for its decisions on Nagorno-Karabakh and led protests last spring. But Pashinyan hasn't stopped there and is threatening to remove the Catholicos of All Armenians.

Wedding Tradition
Politics
Wedding Tradition
3 July 2025

On June 28, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov married his third son, 17-year-old Adam, known for beating defendant Nikita Zhuravel, his collection of orders and medals, and his indecently rapid rise through the Chechen security forces. On their wedding day, Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated the newlyweds and their parents.

From the Frying Pan into the Fire. How North Caucasian Refugees End Up in European Prisons
Human rights
From the Frying Pan into the Fire. How North Caucasian Refugees End Up in European Prisons
3 July 2025

Representatives of Chechen human rights organizations and diaspora groups held rallies in Brussels and Vienna in support of their fellow refugees facing imprisonment in Europe or deportation to Russia.

Deferred Compensation. The ECHR Hears the Case of the Attack on a Press Tour in Chechnya in March 2016
Human rights
Deferred Compensation. The ECHR Hears the Case of the Attack on a Press Tour in Chechnya in March 2016
3 July 2025

On May 15, the European Court of Human Rights released its decision on the attack on participants of a press tour in Chechnya in 2016. The ECHR found that Russia failed to ensure the victims' right to an effective investigation and awarded them €6,000 in compensation.

Cases of bygone days
Society
Cases of bygone days
3 July 2025

On June 25, the Supreme Court of Dagestan concluded another trial concerning the armed incursion of Shamil Basayev and Khattab into the republic in August 1999. This time, Sochi resident Alexander Ponomarenko, who claims he has never been to Dagestan, was sentenced to a lengthy prison term. Such cases are routinely pursued by investigators and the prosecutor's office. In May and June alone, at least seven people were convicted for the events of 1999-2000, and six more were detained and will soon appear in court.

News
"SVO" displaces memory. Participants in a funeral procession detained in Nalchik
3 July 2025

On May 21, memorial events dedicated to the victims of the Russo-Caucasian War were held in Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, Turkey, and other regions where the Adyghe people live. In Nalchik, several people were detained during a procession in memory of those who died for the independence of the Circassian people.

Chronicle of the Russian-Ukrainian War (May - June 2025)
Politics
Chronicle of the Russian-Ukrainian War (May - June 2025)
3 July 2025

On the night of May 1, the Russian army struck Ukraine with five Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 170 drones of various types. The Odessa, Kharkiv, Sumy, Donetsk, and Kyiv regions were damaged. In Odessa, two people were killed and 15 were injured. Several fires broke out, and multi-story residential and private buildings, a supermarket, a school, and cars were

Baku protested the killing of two Azerbaijanis by Russian security forces
Politics
Baku protested the killing of two Azerbaijanis by Russian security forces
3 July 2025

On June 27, in Yekaterinburg, officers from the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Russian National Guard conducted a joint raid on apartments housing Azerbaijanis. Two of those detained during the raid—brothers Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov—died from beatings, sparking a diplomatic conflict between Russia and Azerbaijan.

An explosion rocked a college in Ingushetia
Society
An explosion rocked a college in Ingushetia
3 July 2025

On the night of June 26, an explosion occurred near the North Caucasus Police College on Mutaliyev Street in the Ingush city of Nazran. There were no injuries.