Armenia took fourth place among the popular destinations for the New Year holidays among Russians. 7% of Russian citizens who have planned a vacation abroad are planning to visit the country. The first three positions were taken by Thailand, Uzbekistan and Turkey - 11%, 10% and 8%, respectively. These are the data from a study by the Aviasales air ticket purchasing service.

Law enforcement officers in the Tver and Vladimir regions detained Khamidulla Yapov and Minkail Magamadov. They are accused of attacks on Russian military personnel as part of the detachments of field commanders Shamil Basayev and Khattab in Chechnya in 1999 and 2000 during the Second Russian-Chechen War. This was reported by the Russian Investigative Committee.

A new criminal case has been opened against the former deputy of the Ingush parliament, former head of the regional Social Insurance Fund (FSS) Yakub Belkhoroev, who was previously sentenced to 9 years in prison for embezzlement on an especially large scale. According to the investigation, while managing the FSS, he embezzled more than 13 million rubles from the budget as social payments to his relatives. Allegedly, they suffered as a result of traffic accidents and industrial accidents, which in fact did not happen.

Only 2.1-3.8% of families in Ingushetia, Chechnya, Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria can afford to buy and maintain a new car on credit. These regions took the last places in the RIA Novosti rating.

There is no point in Georgia joining the EU, giving up its values, language and faith. This was stated by the newly elected President of Georgia, Mikheil Kavelashvili.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has been placed under restrictions by Estonia. Along with him, 13 other high-ranking officials and judges were included in the sanctions list. These individuals are banned from entering Estonia. The corresponding statement was made by Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna.

A blind Muslim from Crimea, Alexander Sizikov, was sent to one of the prisons in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. There are two prisons in the region: the first is in Minusinsk, the second is in Yeniseisk. It is not yet known where exactly the political prisoner will serve his sentence.

Mikheil Kavelashvili, who was appointed as the new president by Georgia's ruling party, received a congratulatory message from his Serbian counterpart with an invitation to visit the country. This is the first invitation to visit from a foreign leader that Kavelashvili has received, according to Newsgeorgia.

Grozny was attacked by Ukrainian drones for the second time in a week. This was reported by the Telegram channels Astra, Baza, and “Caution, News”.

Russia has decided to conduct "educational work" with Abkhazia, depriving the republic of the tourist flow from the Russian Federation, which was its main source of income. This was stated by the vice-president of the Association of Tour Operators of the Russian Federation, Artur Muradyan.