HRC "Memorial" presents new book about events in Dagestan

Today, the Russia's largest book forum of international scale - the jubilee 25th Moscow International Book Fair - opened the booth of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", named "Human Rights" and organized by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. During the exhibition, a new book about the situation in Dagestan was presented.

Let us remind you that the authors of the new book entitled "New Course of Magomedov? Reasons of Civil Confrontation, Human Rights Situation and Attempts to Consolidate Society in the Republic of Dagestan. March 2010 - March 2011" are Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya, the project director for Northern Caucasus of the International Crisis Group and a member of the Board of the HRC "Memorial", and Oleg Orlov, the head of the programme "Hot Spots".

During the exhibition, the book "Fate Unknown", initially presented on February 13, was again shown to the visitors.

"The booth was organized by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; the 'Memorial' is present there as a sort of a sector," Oleg Orlov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent and added that the second author Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya is currently on vacations and could not come to the exhibition.

"The book is a revised and completed report, which was presented by the 'Memorial' last year. It tells about the tragic and other events that occurred in Dagestan from April 2010 to April 2011. Initially, the report was presented in Dagestan; we even gave copies to the President Magomedov, Interior Minister, Public Prosecutor and the head of the Investigatory Committee. We asked to send comments but received nothing. Over a year has elapsed since, but the book is still up to date in the sense that the whole background of the conflict, the destabilizing factors and, on the contrary, the factors leading to stability are still there; nothing has changed; and the book is still topical. Moreover, the resonant killing of one of spiritual leaders of Dagestan has again actualized the book," said Orlov.

He noted that the circulation of the book is small - only 500 copies. "Later we'll print more, when we have money; and we'll surely send it to all the MPs," said Orlov.

The book by Orlov and Sokiryanskaya was prepared for a long time, "because the situation in Dagestan was constantly changing," said Alexander Cherkasov, Chairman of the Board of the HRC "Memorial" and the author of the book "Fate Unknown".

"The idea of the book is to show that complex problems should be solved not by brute physical force, but only with the account of all the peculiarities of the country in which to work," said Alexander Cherkasov.