Students from North Ossetia complain of coercion to sign military contracts

Second-year students at North Ossetian State University in North Ossetia have initiated a petition drive. The petition is addressed to the Minister of Education and Science and demands an end to the overly intrusive promotion of military service and contracts with law enforcement agencies.

Information about the signature drive was published by the human rights project "Go to the Forest!" There is no information on whether the petition was sent to the addressee.

In the petition, the students describe pressure from the university administration, which, they say, takes the form of hints about the possible negative consequences of refusing military service and creates an atmosphere of fear. They claim that the educational process is effectively being replaced by recruitment efforts.

However, the Regional Control Center (RCC) of North Ossetia refuted the information contained in the petition, calling it false. According to the Center for Control and Information Technologies, the Ministry of Education and Science and the university administration also deny any pressure on students.

Последние новости
In Dagestan, a schoolgirl pulled a six-year-old boy from a car just seconds before it burst into flames
Society
In Dagestan, a schoolgirl pulled a six-year-old boy from a car just seconds before it burst into flames
30 October 2026

In Khasavyurt, 15-year-old Maryam Akavova rescued a six-year-old child from a Lada Priora that had caught fire. On October 27, the ninth-grade student was walking past a parked car when she noticed a boy’s head sticking out of a window. Upon getting closer, she saw that the glove compartment inside the vehicle was already on fire.

Human rights
"We’ve been killed": The newspaper where Anna Politkovskaya worked announces its forced closure
30 October 2026

Russia’s *Novaya Gazeta* is ceasing operations. On November 9, the editorial team plans to vacate its office in the center of Moscow, shut down its servers, and publish its final issue. The journalists announced this decision on October 30 in a statement titled "We’ve been killed," citing pressure from Russian authorities and security services, eviction from their premises, and the blocking of their reader-donation system.

Dagestan may become the second region in the North Caucasian Federal District to implement a total ban on the sale of vapes
Society
Dagestan may become the second region in the North Caucasian Federal District to implement a total ban on the sale of vapes
30 October 2026

Dagestan is considering a complete ban on the retail sale of electronic cigarettes and the liquids used in them. The republic’s People’s Assembly has approved, in the first reading, a bill that would impose a five-year restriction on the sale of such products throughout the region. The initiative was put forward by the Speaker of the Parliament, Zaur Askenderov.

Armenian Speaker Rejects Opposition Accusations of Preparing an
Politics
Armenian Speaker Rejects Opposition Accusations of Preparing an "Aliyev-Style" Constitution
30 October 2026

The Armenian authorities have no intention of adopting a Basic Law dictated by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The discussion concerns the development of a new Constitution, which would require the approval of the republic’s own citizens, stated Ruben Rubinyan, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, during a briefing on October 30.