Influential businessman and activist Maksharip Aushev was shot dead in Kabardino-Balkaria on 25 October. Aushev had become a vocal critic of the Ingushetia administration, especially its ex-president Murat Zyazikov, after the kidnapping of his son and nephew in 2007. Aushev also ran the website Ingushetia.org, having offered to take on responsibility for it in 2008 following the murder of Magomed Yevloyev, who was killed in police custody.
Russia’s prosecutor general Yuri Chaika promised to personally oversee the murder investigation. This is the latest in a series of attacks on human rights workers and journalists in the North Caucusus region. In Chechnya, prominent human rights activist and journalist Natalya Estemirova was kidnapped and murdered in July, followed by the murder of aid worker Zarema Sadulayeva and her husband in August.
The Russian government announced the end of its military campaign in Chechnya in April, but the culture of violence in the region continues.
