By Andrew Holden (11/6/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: The MMA captured 19% of the seats in the National Assembly and a controlling majority of the Provincial Assembly of the Northwest Frontier Province, and became the largest party in Baluchistan. This is a major electoral progress for religious parties that traditionally remained on the fringes of politics. A first reason for this success is that the various religious parties of the country for the first time consolidated into an electoral alliance.

By Stephen Blank (11/6/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: The Chechen terrorist seizure of a Moscow theater on October 23-24 clearly represented their despair over the course of the war.  But more importantly, it was strategically misconceived for many reasons.  First, it seemingly confirmed the constant Russian charges that the war is just another operation in the global campaign against international terrorism.

Russian Army Ceases Conscription in Dagestan

by Emil Souleimanov (11/28/2012 issue of the CACI Analyst)

In recent years, Moscow has considerably been reducing the share of conscripts to the Russian Army from the republics of the North Caucasus, particularly from Dagestan. Military service remains popular in Dagestan, in stark contrast to much of the Russian Federation. Yet, the changing draft policy appear to be motivated by the perceived difficulty of North Caucasians to conform with the hierarchic traditions of the Russian army, and by the dangers of providing young Dagestanis with military training in the context of the North Caucasus insurgency, which is increasingly centered on Dagestan.