Human rights activists stress that, after the referendum of March 23, which paved the way for presidential elections, crimes against civil population have become more frequent in Chechnya, especially cases of taking people hostage and kidnapping.

On Sunday, October 5, 2003, the elections of the republic's president are to be held in Chechnya. Seven candidates are running for the presidency.

The interview with the candidate for the Chechen presidency was conducted via phone by Roman Rostov, a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"The precautions will help to prevent provocations by rebels on election day," a source at the Chechen Interior Ministry said.

Russian Minister for Chechnya's Affairs Stanislav Ilyasov believes the refugees' unwillingness to leave Georgia is caused in many respects by the purpose-full work on spreading misinformation among them.

The Antiwar Club and the Committee for Antiwar Actions made a decision to conduct a literary and publicistic contest of short narratives and essays "Chechen War in My Life" (by Rashid Polukhin's project).

Unidentified gunmen fired automatic weapons at a Volga car carrying the administration head and his son.

The interview with the Chechen presidential contender Ovukhat Khanchukayev was conducted by Ruslan Umarov, a correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot".

On October 30, Chechen refugees living in the center of temporary accommodation "LogoVAZ" in the town of Nazran were offered to leave the territory of the camp, the offer having the nature of an ultimatum.

A new Russian-Georgian information and analytical website www.pankisi.info was launched on October 1. This is a joint project of the Center of Journalism in Extreme Situations and the Caucasian Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development.

The tent camp "Bella", which was situated on the outskirt of the Ordzhonikidzevskaya village, Ingushetia's Sunzha district, ceased to exist de facto and de jure on October 1. The last two tents were carried from the former place of temporary accommodation "Bella" to the neighboring camp of Chechen refugees "Satsita" yesterday.

"Georgian legislation does not provide for opening of polling stations for refugees, therefore Chechen refugees can not take part in the Chechen presidential elections," the minister explained speaking at the press conference in Tbilisi.

The statement reads, "We call upon the UNHCR, international humanitarian organizations, Russian human rights organizations to express their attitude to the illegal actions of the Russian authorities on the tent camp "Bella" liquidation and demand that the Russian leadership should leave off the practice of forced liquidation of tent camps and centers of temporary accommodation of Chechen refugees of the territory of Ingushetia."

The third number of the Moscow Helsinki Group Bulletin, which came out on October 1, proceeds with the theme of the human rights monitoring of the presidential elections in Chechnya.

The four-day conference "Culture of Peace and Non-Violence" has been taking place in Vladikavkaz since September 29.

The Cinema Center on Krasnaya Presnya, where the festival program was to be demonstrated, pulled out.

The 7th Interregional Conference of Young Leaders "Technology of Cooperation" is to take place on October 2-5, with 150 representatives of youth public unions from Rostov-on-Don, Novocherkassk, Shakhti, Kamensk-Shakhtinsk, the Volgorgad, Stavropol and other Russian regions participating.

As Open Society Institute President Artak Kirakosian said, the legal regulation of the educational sphere in Armenia stays far from democratic standards.

The Russian servicemen had been abducted by unknown people in the center of Zugdidi last Saturday.

Akhmad Hajji Kadyrov's own words which he said after the end of the first Russian-Chechen war are given in the leaflets. They sound in translation about like this, "A Moslem who has offered his hand to a Christian and embraced him, takes a risk of becoming a Christian himself".