Armenia
- Armenia has published an updated list of its 1,000 largest taxpayers. Mobile Centre, which is involved in importing, selling, and re-exporting equipment such as phones and computers — mainly to Russia — topped the list.
- Today, Armenia marks the 27th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the parliament, in which Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan, Parliamentary Speaker Karen Demirchyan, and other public officials were killed.
- Over 100 civil society organisations are demanding the withdrawal of a package of legislative amendments to the civil code that limit local governments’ decision-making powers.
Azerbaijan
- President Ilham Aliyev reaffirmed the country’s commitment to secularism in a speech at the 7th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Baku. ‘Unfounded notions that anyone can dictate anything to us will continue to be met with our firm stance’, Aliyev said, in an apparent reference to Turkey’s criticism of Azerbaijan’s hijab ban in schools.
- Yesterday, Turkish police detained Muhammed Emin Yıldırım, an outspoken critic of Azerbaijan’s hijab ban, only to release him today. Yıldırım, who works with Köklü Değişim Medya, was detained by police in Istanbul on Monday.
Georgia
- Giorgi Pataridze, the head of Special Penitentiary Service, has resigned amid continued controversies surrounding the prison system. The resignation came after the Prosecutor General’s Office recommended the Justice Ministry suspend Giorgi Pataridze in connection with an investigation into the alleged beating of inmate Davit Peikrishvili. Ramaz Tatarashvili has been appointed head of the Special Penitentiary Service.
- A delegation from Russia’s agricultural watchdog, Rosselkhoznadzor, will visit Georgia from 2 November at the invitation of the National Food Agency. The delegation will study Georgia’s phytosanitary certification system for pome and stone fruits, the agency announced. On 10 October, Russia temporarily suspended imports and sales of some alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks from several Georgian producers.
- Students and parents of Tbilisi’s Public School No 10 held a protest yesterday, blocking Dadiani Street. They are demanding the timely completion of the school’s new building, which is under construction. The school was demolished several years ago. Since then, students have had to attend classes in other school buildings or study remotely.
- Shalva Kereselidze, an MP representing the opposition For Georgia party, said they would give up their parliamentary mandates if the Constitutional Court banned the party. He said that if the Constitutional Court banned his party, parliamentary mandates would have no value or power.
Abkhazia
- Abkhazia will introduce the concept of an ‘undesirable foreign citizen’, said Said Tsvinaria, head of the Migration Service. An official decision is planned to declare people ‘who have been convicted and are serving prison sentences’ undesirable, with a ban on entering the republic.
- Abkhazia’s cabinet has approved a draft republican budget for 2027, with budget revenues being expected to total ₽16.4 billion ($180 million). This includes ₽5.2 billion ($64 million) in financial assistance from Russia, ₽904 million ($12 million) from the 2026–2028 Investment Programme, and ₽225 million ($2.8 million) in funding for the 2026–2028 state programme supporting economic sectors.
South Ossetia
- Judoka Tamerlan Tmenov has been appointed Sports Minister. He is an Olympic silver and bronze medallist.
The North Caucasus
- North Ossetian Head Sergei Menyailo has ordered the lifting of petrol sales restrictions in the republic, which were introduced amid a fuel crisis in Russia caused by Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries. The restrictions were introduced in late July and allowed local residents to buy up to 40 litres of petrol, while drivers from other regions were limited to 20 litres.
- Zamid Chalaev, commander of the special police regiment of Chechnya’s Interior Ministry, has urged residents of the republic to report people involved in bombings. He has offered a reward of $100,000 for information on potential suspects.
- Ingushetia has the lowest average salary in Russia, at ₽42,700 ($470), according to data from Rosstat, Russia’s statistics agency. However, residents commenting on the figures have said that in practice, many people earn two to three times less.
- A conflict between two residents of Sunzha district in the village of Alkhasy, Ingushetia, ended in one person dying. Three other people were injured in the fight, in which all participants were reported to be related.
For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.