The body of Abakar Abakarov, the former co-founder of the Russian Congress of the Peoples of the Caucasus and the alleged owner of the "Utro Dagestan" Telegram channel, was found in a rented villa in Istanbul. Media reports indicate the cause of death was stab wounds, although this information has not yet been officially confirmed.

Previously put on the wanted list by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, former State Duma deputy from Dagestan Magomed Gadzhiev was found accused of having ordered the murder of the rector of the Makhachkala Institute of Theology and International Relations Maksud Sadikov in 2011. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation reported this.
A high-profile murder was committed on the evening of June 7, 2011, near a multi-storey building on Abubakarova Street in Makhachkala. Maksud Sadikov and his nephew got out of the car and came under fire while heading towards the house. Both died on the spot.
Ramazan Magomedov, an employee of a security company suspected of committing the murder, denies any involvement in the crime. According to investigators, former State Duma deputy Magomed Gadzhiev was involved in the crime.
Last May, the Ministry of Justice added Gadzhiev to the register of “foreign agents.” According to a message on the department’s website, while outside Russia, in order to obtain foreign citizenship, he expressed his readiness to cooperate with foreign sources, and also declared support for the Ukrainian authorities.
On May 27, 2023, Gadzhiev was expelled from United Russia. The head of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, regarded this decision as logical, calling the ex-deputy “a coward and a traitor.”