Ali Karimli, Chairman of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), offered a critical assessment of the current economic situation in Azerbaijan. Citing official data, he stated that in the first quarter of 2026, economic growth in Georgia was 8.4%, while in Armenia it was 7.4%. In contrast, Azerbaijan's economy showed negative dynamics, contracting by 0.3%.
In 2026, the Bank of Russia will mark the 75th birthday of former head of the Chechen Republic Akhmat-Khadji Kadyrov by issuing a commemorative silver coin. The two-ruble coin, weighing half a troy ounce, will be added to the "Outstanding Personalities of Russia" series.
This is only the second time the Bank of Russia has issued a coin honoring a modern politician. The first was for former Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin—a coin commemorating his 75th birthday was issued in 2013. In 2026, coins will also be issued commemorating the 200th anniversary of the writer Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, the 150th anniversary of the artist Stepan Erzya, and the surgeon Nikolai Burdenko.
In 2015, a coin was issued depicting the “Heart of Chechnya” mosque, named after Akhmat Kadyrov.