Caucasian Knot (Russian: Кавказский узел, ''Kavkazkii Uzel'') is an online news site that covers the Caucasus region in English and Russian. It was established in 2001 and
Grigory Shvedov is the editor-in-chief.
[Giving people of the Caucasus a voice]
Radio Netherlands Worldwide
Radio Netherlands (RNW; nl, Radio Nederland Wereldomroep) was a public radio and television network based in Hilversum, producing and transmitting programmes for international audiences outside the Netherlands from 1947 to 2012.
Its services i ...
. Retrieved 1 January 2013 It has a particular focus on politics and on human rights issues, including
freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...
.
History
In 2001 the site started out as a project related to the human rights organisation
Memorial
A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...
, but developed into a site for independent journalism.
In 2003 the Caucasian Knot launched its English-language site.
It is funded by a number of charitable organisations in the U.S. and Western Europe.
The site had a monthly readership of approximately 1.8 million in 2011.
Projects
* "North Caucasus through the eyes of bloggers" (in partnership with the BBC Russian Service)
* "Maps of the peaceful Caucasus" (in cooperation with Yandex)
* "Weather in 49 cities of the Caucasus" (together with the laboratory for modeling the general circulation of atmosphere and climate at the Russian Hydrometeorological Center)
* Interviews with the Presidents of the North and South Caucasus republics (in partnership with the online publication "Gazeta.ru"):
** interview with the President of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Yevkurov
** interview with the head of Dagestan Mukhu Aliyev
** interview with President of South Ossetia Eduard Kokoity
** interview with President of Abkhazia Sergei Bagapsh
** interview with the head of North Ossetia Taimuraz Mamsurov
Team
Caucasian Knot does not have any editorial offices, citing security risks.
[ Grigory Shvedov operated from Moscow while many of the other reporters (approximately fifty) are spread around in the Caucasus area, including in ]Chechnya
Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...
, Dagestan
Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...
, and Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
. The reporters stay in contact via Google programs in a virtual office. Due to safety concerns, a number of the correspondents do not use their names.[Katrina vanden Heuvel (9 April 2012]
A Brave and Independent Russian Editor
''The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
''. Retrieved 1 January 2013
Murders and harassment of journalists
Russian human rights activist and journalist Natalya Estemirova
Natalya Khusainovna Estemirova (russian: Наталья Хусаиновна Эстемирова; 28 February 1958 – 15 July 2009) was a Russian human rights activist and board member of the Russian human rights organization Memorial. ...
contributed to Caucasian Knot before she was kidnapped and killed in Chechnya in 2009.
In 2009, Caucasian Knot launched a project together with the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
named "North Caucasus through the eyes of bloggers".
The Caucasian Knot journalist Bella Ksalova was shot in the city of Cherkessk on July 25, 2010 by Arsen Abaikhanov.
Akhmednabi Akhmednabiev, who was deputy editor of the weekly paper ''Novoe Delo'' and also wrote for Caucasian Knot, was shot and killed in
in 2013.
On April 16, 2016 Caucasian Knot correspondent Zhalaudi Geriyev was kidnapped by unknown security forces. He was accused of working against the authorities in Chechnya and was sentenced to three years prison for illegal transport and possession of large quantities of drugs.
To support the journalist, international human rights organizations made statements to recognize him as a political prisoner.
.
In 2009, Caucasian Knot was awarded with the Prize of the Union of Journalists of Russia for defending the interests of the professional community.
award in 2012 for his work with Memorial and Caucasian Knot.