Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of May 2-8

Armed incidents in Dagestan; search for Adlan Varaev, who disappeared in the mountains of Chechnya; "Rostov" FC in the lead of Russian Football Premier League, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of May 2-8, 2016, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

Baku takes European Youth Football Cup games

On May 5, Baku opened the 15th European Football Championship among youth players aged under 17 (U-17). In total, 16 teams will compete until May 21. For the first, the Azerbaijani team takes part; and on the opening day it defeated the Portugal team. The UEFA reported a record attendance of the match – 33,000 spectators.

Three armed incidents involving suspected militants occur in Dagestan

On May 7, in a wooded area of the Khiv District of Dagestan, a group of policemen was shelled after they had found a dugout with arms and ammunition. No one was hurt by the shelling. At night on May 6, in the village of Ashagastal, Suleiman-Stalsky District, the chief accountant of the ROVD (District Interior Division), a captain of the internal service of the Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), was shot dead in the yard of his house. According to preliminary data, he was killed by a hired gunman. On May 3, a shootout broke out in the Kizilyurt District. Three people were killed; one of them was Umar Sabuev, the leader of the local armed grouping. Another casualty was identified as Abas Khubaev, a native of the village of Endirey of the Khasavyurt District.

Missing athlete Adlan Varaev is being searched in Chechen mountains

On May 3, in the Argun Gorge of Chechnya, Adlan Varaev, the Vice-President of the Russian Wrestling Federation, disappeared; his empty car was found there. Rescuers believe that the man fell down a cliff into the river when taking photos. To search for Varaev involved law enforcers, employees of the Ministry for Emergencies (MfE) and several hundred volunteers – local residents. By May 6, they examined about 30 kilometres along the Argun River, but failed to find the Varaev’s body. Then, rescues decided to use drones.

Tbilisi opposition holds protests against Ivanishvili’s business projects

Two major protests were held in Tbilisi, where the opposition has expressed dissatisfaction with the projects, initiated by Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the ruling "Georgian Dream". On May 3, they protested against acquisition by the businessman of land plots in the Botanical Gardens and next to them. Oppositionists accuse the Mayoralty of the capital of Georgia of selling the national property. Lawyers have stated several violations at the sale of the land plots. On May 7, activists of non-governmental organizations and oppositionists held an action against the construction of business complexes in central Tbilisi. Six people were detained at the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). They rendered resistance to law enforcers, damaged a police car and hit a policeman, the police have reported.

It is noteworthy that on May 6 Ivanishvili’s the representative said that his boss is ready to abandon the projects and transfer them to any interested investor.

All employees of Yerevan "Nairit" Factory to be dismissed

On May 3, all the 467 employees of the "Nairit" Factory in Yerevan, which had produced rubber and is currently idling, received pink slips from July 1. This was preceded by a layoff of 1700 "Nairit" employees in February 2015 and a series of protests, during which workers demanded to pay salary debts and restart the factory. On May 5, former employees of "Nairit" again came to hold a rally at the building of the Armenian government, stating that the working group, which was set up to study the factory status, fails to take steps to attract investments needed to restart the facility.

"Rostov" FC is leader of Russian Football Championship

On May 6, the players of the "Rostov" Football Club (FC) defeated the "Locomotive" FC (2: 1) in the home match of the 27th day of the Russian Premier League. This victory brought the "Rostov" FC with its 54 points to the first place in the championship table. The success of the Rostov team has become one of the major sensations of the tournament. The club hopes to win the Premier League and qualify for the UEFA Champions League. Also, Sergey Cheban, the Executive Director of the Premier League, said that the "Rostov" FC had been successfully licensed for the participation in European Cups.