Caucasian Knot

06/12/2025

Archbishop Khachatryan arrested in drug trafficking case

The court has ordered the arrest of Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan of the Armenian Apostolic Church for two months on drug trafficking charges.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on December 4, his lawyer reported the arrest of Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The day before, Khachatryan stated that he did not intend to resign as head of the chancery of Etchmiadzin. He linked his persecution to his stance on Armenian government policy.

Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan has been arrested for two months, according to his lawyer, Arsen Babayan. According to him, Judge Masis Melkoyan granted the investigator's motion to select a preventive measure, Novosti Armenia reports.

Khachatryan has been charged under paragraphs 1 and 4 of Part 2 of Article 393 of the Criminal Code. "During the pre-trial proceedings, a public criminal prosecution was initiated against the individual under paragraphs 1 and 4 of Part 2 of Article 393 of the Criminal Code (illegal sale of narcotics by a group of persons by prior agreement, committed in a public place)," News_am reported, citing the Investigative Committee of Armenia.

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The court placed Archbishop of the Armenian Apostolic Church Arshak Khachatryan under arrest for two months on charges of drug trafficking.

06/12/2025

Kadyrov admitted to damaging the Grozny-City complex with drones.

Ramzan Kadyrov publicly acknowledged that the Grozny City high-rise complex was damaged by a Ukrainian drone, assuring that "no one was hurt" in the attack. However, Chechen authorities have not yet commented on the results of the attacks on security agency buildings in Gudermes and Achkhoy-Martan.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on the night of December 2, the military shot down four drones over Chechen territory, making it the only region in the North Caucasus Federal District where a drone attack was recorded overnight. On the morning of December 5, sources reported that several floors of one of the towers in the Grozny City business center were damaged by an explosion. The published video shows a fire blazing on one of the floors, roughly halfway down the building, with damage to the cladding on at least seven floors.

The attack on the Grozny City complex was discussed at Ramzan Kadyrov's latest meeting with security officials, according to a post on the Chechen leader's Telegram channel.

According to Kadyrov, "no one was injured" in the attack, and the Chechen government intends to "quickly restore" the building. He commented on the political aspect of the incident much more verbosely than on the practical aspects.

“Such actions are nothing more than attempts to intimidate the civilian population and create the illusion of pressure. Those who are incapable of achieving success on the battlefield are trying to compensate for their own weakness by striking civilian targets. An attack on a high-rise building is a clear indicator of powerlessness,” Kadyrov wrote, adding that he would personally “respond” to the enemy soon.

More: https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/70085

05/12/2025

The defense asked for the acquittal of the former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh.

At a hearing in the Baku Court of Grave Crimes, lawyers called the guilt of their clients, the former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh, unproven and called on the court to acquit them.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," the trial of the former leaders of the unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, accused of war crimes, concluded on October 31. The prosecution requested life imprisonment for Arayik Harutyunyan, David Ishkhanyan, David Babayan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, and David Manukyan, and 16 to 20 years in prison for the others. The lengthy indictment was prepared in advance, lawyer Siranush Sahakyan is sure.

More: https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/70070

05/12/2025

A court in Sochi sentenced members of the "Citizens of the USSR"* movement.

A Sochi court sentenced local residents for participating in and inciting participation in the activities of an extremist organization. Mother and son, Yulia and Yaroslav Rybin, received 5 and 3 years in a general regime penal colony, respectively.

According to the court, on June 20, 2025, Yulia and Yaroslav Rybin were stopped by traffic police. At the time, their son was driving a car with a state registration plate bearing the heraldic symbols of the USSR.

More: https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/70069

* The interregional public association "Union of Slavic Forces of Russia" was designated an extremist organization in August 2019 by the Komi Supreme Court. Several other organizations with the abbreviation "USSR" in their names have also been added to the extremist list.

05/12/2025

Protesters in Tbilisi have called for an investigation into the use of chemical agents to disperse protests.

Opposition parties, activists, and students have announced a large-scale march for December 6 demanding an international investigation into the use of chemical agents against protesters in November-December 2024.

As reported by the Caucasian Knot, the Georgian State Security Service has launched an investigation into reports that the country's authorities used chemical agents against protesters during the dispersal of anti-government rallies in Tbilisi in 2024. This information was reported in a BBC report. On the evening of December 1, the 369th day of continuous protests, protesters outside the Georgian Parliament set fire to smoke bombs, claiming that protesters were poisoned last year. At the December 2nd rally, those gathered thanked the BBC for its investigation.

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Opposition parties, activists, and students have announced a large-scale march on December 6 demanding an international investigation into the use of chemical agents against protesters in November-December 2024.

05/12/2025

A Volgograd blogger has been arrested in connection with an extortion case.

A court has sentenced Volgograd blogger Alexey Ulyanov to two months' detention on extortion charges. In court, he admitted receiving money for his posts, but that everything was legal.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," blogger Alexey Ulyanov, detained by security forces in Volgograd, was hospitalized after being arrested on extortion charges, but this morning he was transferred to a pretrial detention center. According to investigators, he demanded money for not publishing information undesirable for businessmen.

The Volgograd Central District Court has arrested blogger Alexey Ulyanov, suspected of a series of extortion cases, the joint press service of the Volgograd Region courts reported today.

According to investigators, beginning in 2020, Alexey Ulyanov demanded money from the heads of organizations and individuals, as well as their close associates, in exchange for not disseminating defamatory information. The amounts he intended to receive ranged from 100,000 to 6 million rubles.

More: https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/70057

05/12/2025

Social media users have inquired about the source of Akhmat Kadyrov's charitable donations.

Chechnya's Minister of Physical Culture and Sports, Akhmat Kadyrov, donated over 18 million rubles to the families of fire victims. Social media users wondered when he managed to earn such a large sum.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," the appointment of Ramzan Kadyrov's eldest son, Akhmat Kadyrov, as Minister of Physical Culture and Sports of Chechnya was announced on May 21, 2024.

Chechen Republic Minister of Physical Culture and Sports Akhmat Kadyrov has closed 22 fundraising campaigns for the Daimokh Charitable Foundation, totaling over 18 million rubles, Grozny State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company reported.

Akhmat Kadyrov has closed fundraising campaigns for the foundation on numerous previous occasions. The funds raised helped fire victims who lost their homes and property, children with cancer and adults in need of urgent and expensive treatment, seriously ill children with congenital abnormalities, and patients with critical diagnoses, according to a December 3 publication.

More: https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/70054

04/12/2025

Former Kuban Vice Governor Voronovsky has been arrested in a corruption case.

Moscow's Basmanny Court has remanded former State Duma deputy Anatoly Voronovsky into custody on charges of accepting a bribe on an especially large scale.

As reported by Caucasian Knot, at the end of November, Anatoly Voronovsky, who is being investigated for accepting a bribe on an especially large scale, filed for early resignation as a State Duma deputy. Voronovsky made this decision after the State Duma approved the stripping of his parliamentary immunity on November 11, following a submission from the prosecutor's office. Later, at a plenary session, the State Duma prematurely stripped Voronovsky of his powers as a United Russia deputy, upholding his request.

More: https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/70035

04/12/2025

Eight soldiers from the Rostov region were killed in Ukraine.

On December 3, the Salsky District Administration announced the names of several more servicemen killed in Ukraine. Eight new names were made public in a report on the presentation of posthumous awards to the soldiers' relatives.

Mikhail Goloshchapov, Vyacheslav Demekhin, Alexey Ignatenko, Igor Izyumov, Armen Kazarov, Dmitry Kislitsa, Oleg Klopov, and Maxim Golovin were killed in the combat zone, according to a post on the municipality's official Telegram channel.

The relatives of the listed servicemen were "awarded orders and medals," but the specific award was not specified. The ages and biographical details of the killed officials were also not provided in the post.

Thus, at least 778 soldiers from the Rostov region have been officially recognized as killed in the war zone in Ukraine. "Caucasian Knot" maintains a list of names of natives of the North Caucasus and Southern Federal Districts killed in the military operation. The list was compiled based on data officially announced by government officials and law enforcement agencies, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "Statistics of the Central Military District: Losses are growing for the south of Russia".

https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/70043

04/12/2025

A blogger from Dagestan was sentenced in absentia to eight years in Rostov-on-Don.

The Rostov-on-Don Military Court sentenced Dagestani blogger Arslan Mirzaev (Ali Charinsky), finding him guilty of spreading "fakes" about the Russian army and calling for terrorism.

On December 3, the Southern District Military Court found Arslan Mirzayev guilty of two counts of public justification of terrorism (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Russian Criminal Code, which carries a prison sentence of five to seven years) and disseminating "fakes" about Russian military personnel (Part 1 of Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code, which carries a prison sentence of up to five years).

More: https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/70040

04/12/2025

The head of the Azerbaijani community in the Urals, who replaced Shykhlinsky, has been arrested.

The court arrested Vidadi Mustafayev, head of the Azerbaijani community in Ural, on fraud charges. Mustafayev denied his guilt.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," the Elders elected Vidadi Mustafayev, an opponent of the previously arrested Shahin Shykhlinski, as head of the Azerbaijani community in Ural. Mustafayev declared that the concept of diaspora has been abolished because it has exhausted its usefulness, promising to teach young people to live according to Russian law.

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The court arrested Vidadi Mustafayev, head of the Azerbaijani community in Ural, on charges of fraud. Mustafayev denied his guilt.

04/12/2025

Protests against the construction of "Arab cities" preceded a rally outside the Georgian parliament.

A rally demanding disclosure of the details of the agreement with the UAE company took place on Rustaveli Avenue near the Eagle Hills office. Participants began collecting signatures for an online petition. Afterward, the demonstrators moved to the Georgian Parliament, where European integration supporters have been demonstrating for the 371st day in a row.

More: https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/70037