Luiza Mchedlishvili

126 Posts

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Despite being the team’s youngest member, Luiza has years of experience writing about the North Caucasus, and has been an integral part of OC Media since 2021. She closely follows developments in C

Ingushetia

Ingushetia challenges North Ossetian proposal to seize land

by Luiza Mchedlishvili

•3 min read

The authorities in the Russian Republic of Ingushetia have challenged a proposal by the neighbouring republic of North Ossetia — Alania to take control of several areas of the republic. The North Ossetian Ministry of Construction presented the proposal on 30 August, leading to public outcry in Ingushetia. According to Ingush news site Fortanga, the proposal would incorporate part of Ingushetia’s Dzheyrakhsky District — the village of Gorbani, the Stolovaya mountain, and land surrounding t

adam kadyrov

Quran burner beaten by Adam Kadyrov charged with treason

by Luiza Mchedlishvili

•2 min read

A man who set fire to a Quran and was subsequently beaten up by Adam Kadyrov while in detention in Chechnya has been charged with high treason for allegedly sharing information with Ukrainian security services. The Volgograd Prosecutor’s Office approved the charges against 20-year-old Nikita Zhuravel on Thursday. He faces up to life in prison if convicted. Zhuravel gained public attention after footage purportedly of him burning a Quran appeared on social media. He was arrested and later

Chechnya

Mufti of Chechnya elected leader of North Caucasian Muslims

by Luiza Mchedlishvili

•2 min read

The Mufti of Chechnya and known advisor to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, Salakh Mezhiev, has been elected chair of the Coordination Centre of Muslims of the North Caucasus. On 28 September, the Council of Muftis unanimously elected Mezhiyev during a meeting in Cherkessk, the capital city of Karachay–Cherkessia. ‘I congratulate the respected Sheikh Salakh-Khadzhi Mezhiev on his election to this post. I am confident that he will justify the high trust placed in him by religious leaders o

Akhmat special forces unit. Image: nsn.fm

Austria

Chechen native disappears after being deported to Russia

by Luiza Mchedlishvili

•2 min read

A Chechen native has disappeared after being detained in Cairo and deported to Moscow. Local media reported on Tuesday that Yusup Musayev had been detained at Cairo International Airport earlier this month at the request of Russian authorities. On 18 September, Musayev was deported to Russia. No one has heard from him since his plane arrived at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow later that same day. According to Chechen opposition movement 1adat, once in Russia, Musayev was kidnapped by Che

The Sheikh Mansur Reserve during rifle training. Image via Grozny-inform.

Azerbaijan

Chechen authorities threaten to send Azerbaijani citizens to fight in Ukraine

by Luiza Mchedlishvili

•2 min read

Five Azerbaijani citizens have been detained in Chechnya under threat of being sent to fight in Ukraine. In response, Azerbaijan has sent a note of protest to the Russian Foreign Ministry. Chechen authorities recently detained five Azerbaijani men, two of whom — Vugar Maharramov and Elkhan Shirinov — have since been forced to sign military contracts. Shirinov and Maharramov were detained with their brother-in-law, Nihad Rzayev. They originally travelled to Chechnya in May in order to mak

Screengrab from video: AptiAlaudinovAKHMAT/Telegram.

Chechnya

Chechen commander orders captured Chechens in Ukraine to ‘kill themselves’

by Luiza Mchedlishvili

•3 min read

A Chechen special forces commander has dismissed calls for a prisoner swap with Ukraine, and ordered captured Chechen soldiers to kill themselves so that they could end their ‘journey as men’. On 15 September, the commander of the Chechen Akhmat special forces unit and a Russian Major General, Apti Alaudinov, posted a video on his Telegram channel stating that Ukraine could ‘keep’ Chechen soldiers it had captured. In the video, Alaudinov discussed how he had recently received several vide

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