Opposition figure Gulu Mammadli stated that the arrest of Ali Karimli, leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), was expected, but the reasons go beyond simple criticism of the authorities. According to Mammadli, Karimli's publications in major Western media have increased his political significance and visibility abroad, which has caused concern among the Azerbaijani authorities.
The last lines in the RIA Novosti rating for scientific and technological development were Ingushetia, the Jewish Autonomous Region, Chechnya, Khakassia and Karachay-Cherkessia.
North Ossetia ranks 74th out of 85 regions of the Russian Federation, Dagestan is 73rd, and Kabardino-Balkaria is 72nd. The top three are Moscow, St. Petersburg and Tatarstan. These regions account for almost 36% of the total volume of shipped innovative goods and services in Russia.
The positions of the regions in the list were determined based on integral values calculated using 19 indicators. Among them are human resources, material and technical base, efficiency of scientific and technological activities, and the scale of scientific and technological activities.