Publication

The establishment of a separate North Caucasian Federal District in January 2010, and the nomination of Aleksandr Khloponin as the presidential plenipotentiary envoy to that district, suggest that the Kremlin is going to adjust its previous policy towards this region. It can be concluded from statements made by President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that the essence of the new tactics will be to develop the Caucasus economically, and to give top priority to such regional socio-economic problems as poverty, unemployment and corruption.