More than 3 billion rubles have been paid out to residents of Dagestan affected by spring floods. Fyodor Shchukin announced this on October 15 while speaking at a session of the republic’s People’s Assembly. On the same day, deputies elected him as the head of the region, following which he took the oath of office and assumed his duties.
Four men have been detained in Ingushetia, Stavropol Krai, Dagestan and Astrakhan Oblast. Security forces believe that they are members of the unit of field commanders Shamil Basayev and Khattab.
Arsen Koldasov, Radzhab Khasayev, Batyr Arsanov and Rasul Takhtamirov are accused of participating in illegal armed groups. According to investigators, they invaded Dagestan in 1999 during the second Russian-Chechen war, and then allegedly attacked Russian soldiers near the village of Chervlennaya in 1999 and near the village of Ulus-Kert in February 2000. All of them were also charged with banditry, armed rebellion, and attempting to kill law enforcement officers.
The units of Shamil Basayev and Khattab entered Dagestan from the territory of Chechnya. According to official data, more than 280 Russian servicemen, law enforcement officers and civilians were killed and over 800 wounded as a result of the invasion.