On February 18, the president of the republic of Ingushetia appointed Yuri Mityuk as the chief of staff of his administration. The post had been vacant since December 2009 after the previous chief of staff, Vladimir Borshyov, resigned unexpectedly over differences with the president, according to local media reports. The appointment of Mityuk caused mixed reactions among the Ingush population, given his extensive background in the security services.

Meanwhile, attacks by militants targeting local and federal security services continued unabated, despite heightened security measures and numerous counter-terrorist operations. On February 19, a series of coordinated explosions took place in the centre of Nazran, Ingushetia’s largest city. One police officer and one civilian were killed and 35 others injured, including 22 security servicemen and 13 civilians. The attack was orchestrated to serve as a trap as all three explosions occurred within close proximity of each other and at different time intervals after authorities were called to the scene by an anonymous caller reporting suspicious activity by armed gunmen.

Experts suggest that the the authorities’ failure to make significant gains in improving security in the republic, despite a number of positive steps made by the Ingush president, illustrates the challenging security environment facing Yevkurov and the newly appointed governor of the North Caucasus Federal District, Alexander Khloponin.

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In Ingushetia, mixed reaction to appointment of Yuri Mityuk as chief of staff
Caucasian Knot, February 20, 2009 (in Russian)

Ethnic tensions rise in Dagestan in anticipation of new cabinet appointments

On February 19, Magomedsalam Magomedov was inaugurated as the president of Dagestan amidst heightened security measures in the republic’s capital, Makhachkala. However, three days before the inauguration, a group of Kumyks, Dagestan’s third largest ethnic group, held a large rally in Makhachkala protesting the anticipated dismissal of the republic’s Prime Minister Shamil Zaynalov, an ethnic Kumyk. The demonstrators called on the new president to maintain the tacit agreement traditionally maintained between the largest ethnic groups on the distribution of the three top leadership posts.

Magomedov, an ethnic Dargin, has yet to announce his cabinet picks, but stated earlier that the Prime Minister must be replaced with an Avar “in order to keep ethnic parity” and it is expected that a Kumyk will be named Speaker of the Parliament.

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Russia’s Dagestan head to pardon repentant rebels
Reuters, February 20, 2010