Sword or Samovar

The Deadliest Village in Russia

At journey's end, reaching the heart of the North Caucasus's Islamist insurgency -- and getting arrested.

BY TOM PARFITT | APRIL 1, 2011

Dangerous Graft

As the journey nears its end, a look at how samovar politics, mixed with rampant corruption, have helped turn Dagestan into the most deadly of Russia's North Caucasus republics.

BY TOM PARFITT | MARCH 23, 2011

The Islamic Republic of Chechnya

Why is the Kremlin-imposed leader of this republic sounding so much like the militants he's meant to be cracking down on?

BY TOM PARFITT | MARCH 15, 2011

A Fear of Three Letters

Traveling through Ingushetia, a republic where people are more frightened of Russia's shadowy security forces than the Islamist militants.

BY TOM PARFITT | MARCH 7, 2011

The Secret History of Beslan

From the outside, the violence in the Caucasus looks like a religious war or an independence struggle. In this installment from a monthlong travel diary, our correspondent finds that in North Ossetia, ethnic tension adds a deadly twist.

BY TOM PARFITT | MARCH 1, 2011

Islamists on Trial

On a monthlong trip through Russia's bloody southern republics, our correspondent visits a nearly deserted courtroom looking for hints as to why the violence here has taken on a new level of viciousness.

BY TOM PARFITT | FEBRUARY 24, 2011

Blood Relations

The families of suspected Islamist guerrillas in the North Caucasus have always faced harassment from Russian security forces. Now a shadowy vigilante group has started targeting them as well.

BY TOM PARFITT | FEBRUARY 18, 2011

Sword or Samovar

The first installment from a monthlong journey through Russia's killing zone.

BY TOM PARFITT | FEBRUARY 15, 2011