Leyla Gamzatova with her daughters Shakhri and Marina (Tatiana Titova/Eto Kavkaz)
There are 56,000 children in Russia’s federal database of orphans. This large number is a drop on previous years, with the number of orphans in the whole country declining. In Daghestan, orphans are increasingly being taken in by new families.
Makhachkala at night (Timur Agirov/timag82.livejournal.com)
In the North Caucasus, queer people often feel the need to hide their sexual orientation, even fearing for their lives. Many move to other parts of Russia, to avoid the pressures of society and to live in relative freedom. OC Media spoke to three queer Daghestanis about life as a queer person from Daghestan, and coming out to friends and family. Their names have been changed.
Kotrov Street (Aida Mirmaksumova/OC Media)
There has been a surge of civic engagement in Daghestan since early 2017, with human rights groups even managing to achieve justice in several disputes. OC Media tried to find out what prompted people to go out into the streets, and what caused this surge of activity. [Read more…]
A protest by lorry drivers in Daghestan against the ‘Platon’ road tax is continuing. How did the strike begin? and what’s next for the striking drivers? Find out below. [Read more…]
Brick factory in Daghestan (Vasily Ilyinsky/ Ria Novosty)
Brick factories across Daghestan make use of illegal slave labour despite attempts by activists to stop them. Local authorities are either unwilling or unable to stand up to the traffickers and their criminal bosses. We spoke to activist Zakir Ismailov about the problem. [Read more…]
On 2 March, opposition leader Aleksey Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation published a documentary investigation, ‘He is not Dimon to you’. Dimon is a diminutive form of Dmitry, implying familiarity. The film claims that Dmitry Medvedev is at the head of a multi-level corruption scheme in the country. When the Russian authorities declined to comment on the issue, Navalny called for street rallies to be held on 26 March. The rallies were attended by opposition activists in several Russian cities.
Read OC Media’s report from the anti-corruption protest in Makhachkala.
One-person protest on Rodopsky Boulevard in Makhachkala (Aida Mirmaksumova/OC Media)
Several dozen people were detained on 26 March during an anti-corruption rally in Daghestan’s capital Makhachkala. In Krasnodar, the capital of Krasnodar Krai seven people were arrested. Rallies against official corruption were held across Russia, including in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Novosibirsk and Tomsk, according to the BBC. The purpose of the protests was to force the Russian government to launch an investigation into alleged corruption by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
'Day of Joy' for orphans of Dagestan (islamdag.ru)
Russia’s orphans have the right to receive housing from the state when they reach adulthood. In practice, waiting lists in some regions of the country are so long that they postpone the satisfaction of having a flat for several years. OC Media investigated how providing housing to orphans works in Daghestan.
[Read more…]
Kabuki Syndrome (http://www.handresearch.com/)
There are 165 people in Daghestan who suffer from rare genetic diseases; more than half of them are children. Patients complain of a lack of assistance from the state. [Read more…]
Kaspiysk (odnoselchane.ru)
On 5 March, about 50 people staged a protest against construction projects on beach in the Daghestani city of Kaspiysk. The activists doubt the city authorities’ assurances that the beach will be improved.
