During the first three months of this year, at least 468 persons suffered or became victims of the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus. Of them, 211 persons were killed and 257 injured. These are the results of calculations of the "Caucasian Knot", based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

In March, at least 96 people were killed and wounded in the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus: 68 of them were killed and at least 27 injured. These are the results of calculations made by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

Russian authorities have managed to isolate the Chechen Republic from western journalists and almost completely block the flow of independent information from the region. However, the commitment to act most cruelly and violently in Chechnya is in fact an evidence of Moscow's weakness; while the best way out is in improvement of social and economic life in Chechnya and launching the negotiation process. This was told in the interview to the "Caucasian Knot" by Lord Frank Judd, participant of the inter-party parliamentary group for defence of human rights of the British Parliament, former PACE's Rapporteur for Chechnya, who paid a visit to the republic as the head of the British parliamentary delegation on February 15-18, 2010.

Thomas de Waal, British journalist and writer, former editor of the Caucasus department of the British Institute for War and Peace Reporting, co-founder of the non-government organization GO Group, one of the best-known Western experts on the Caucasus. In an interview to the "Caucasian Knot" he commented on the situation around the ratification of Armenian-Turkish protocols, on the prospects of settling the Nagorno-Karabakh problem and the relations between Azerbaijan and Iran.

On 25 September, the president of the International Federation for Human Rights (IFHR) Souyer Belassen attended the Moscow court sitting that was considering a suit of the Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov against the chairman of the Memorial Human Rights Center Oleg Orlov. After the sitting, the human rights activist gave her vision of this legal process and the overall situation with human rights in the Russian Federation.

The Commission of National Reconciliation in South Ossetia could become a vital tool for reducing tensions and finding lasting political solutions in the region, argues journalist and analyst Valeriy Dzutsev.

Remarks by the President of the USA Barak Obama at the New Economic School Graduation, Moscow, July 7, 2009.

This SCA study contains an assessment of the current conflict and cooperation dynamics in the North Caucasus with a focus on developments in the region that have taken place since the previous Strategic Reconstruction and Development Assessment (SRDA) study conducted in 2005 and updated in 2006.

The South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders is extremely concerned about the arrests of activists of Georgian opposition political parties and violence used against them. These events have been continuing during last two months, starting from the kick off of the public demonstrations on 9 April 2009 and escalating recently.

The South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders is alarmed about the draft amendments to the Law of Republic of Azerbaijan "On Non-governmental organizations (public associations and foundations)" that are due to be discussed on 19 June by the Parliament of Azerbaijan. Should these amendments be adopted as they stand, they would severely curtail freedom of association in contradiction with the Constitution of Azerbaijan, international obligations undertaken by the country, in particular obligations steaming from the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the commitments under European Union Eastern Partnership, Council of Europe and OSCE.

About a year ago in Armenia, the GALA TV Company, non-controlled by the authorities and based in the city of Gyumri, the second largest city of Armenia, managed to escape closing. Great efforts to this end were made by the Journalists' Press Club named "Asparez". Levon Barsegyan, President of this Gyumri-based Club, shared his views with the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent about today's situation in Armenian media and characterized the country's internal political processes.

Statement of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee.

While the real war between Russia and Georgia may be over, the Internet war lingers on, with virtual battalions continuing to fight on sites like YouTube.

The Georgia-Russia war has exposed some of the flaws in the idea of citizen journalism, says Evgeny Morozov.