Saida Vagabova

5 Posts

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Saida is a journalist at Daghestani newspaper Chernovik.

Daghestan

Russia’s war on Jehovah’s Witnesses reaches Daghestan

by Saida Vagabova

•6 min read

Since 2017, the Jehovah’s Witnesses religious organisation has been banned in Russia — branded and ‘extremist sect’. With arrests and prosecutions taking place throughout the country since, the authorities have now turned their eyes to Daghestan, and after raids throughout the republic, four members are now on trial. In June, four Jehovah’s Witnesses were arrested in Daghestan accused of ‘extremist activity’. A lawyer for those arrested told OC Media that these were the first such mass sear

Corruption

‘Illegal’ land seizures go unpunished in Daghestan

by Saida Vagabova

•5 min read

Illegal high-rises have mushroomed in Makhachkala, the capital of Daghestan— the fruit of a corrupt process two decades in the making. Lawyer and Makhachkala resident Abdurashid Abdurashidov had a yard he could see from the window of his flat. It had a small park, garages, and a place for children to play sports. In 2012, he found out it would be torn down. The local prosecutor’s office said it needed a new administrative building. The strange thing was, they already had one, just down the

Daghestan

Rare diseases left untreated in Daghestan

by Saida Vagabova

•5 min read

According to the All-Russian Society of Orphan Diseases, Daghestan is the number one region in Russia in terms of the number of rare diseases. Despite the law guaranteeing such patients free treatment, Daghestani patients complain that there is a lack of systematic medical care. Nurmagomed Rasulov’s 13-year-old daughter, Dzhamilya, was diagnosed with thalassemia, a hereditary blood disease, at birth. Rasulov told OC Media that they only received medicines based on that basic diagnosis and r

AniDag

Not welcome in Daghestan — anime, K-pop, and rap

by Saida Vagabova

•7 min read

Film screenings of a K-pop concert, an anime festival, and a concert by Russian rapper Kreed — all cultural events cancelled in recent months after pressure from those claiming to be defenders of Daghestani culture and religion. But for those wishing to attend such events, the backlash has little to do with traditions and more a ‘desire to feel significant’. On 25 November, a mob of around 100–150 angry young men gathered outside a theatre in Makhachkala, the Daghestani capital. The men

Daghestan

The disappeared men in Daghestan’s ‘fake war on terror’

by Saida Vagabova

•6 min read

For several years, young Daghestani men have been disappearing, reported missing by their families only later to be declared ‘destroyed in counterterrorism operations’. Evidence from the families of many of these men as well as local rights groups and experts, suggest they may have been kidnapped by the authorities, and that faking the war on terror is just another face of Daghestan’s raging corruption. Magomed Suleymanov disappeared on 3 June 2016 in Makhachkala, Daghestan, Russia. H

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