The three explosions that occurred in the evening on February 8 in two districts of Grozny, the Chechen capital, were not terror acts. In one case a grenade blew up, while the two other explosions could be just of everyday origin, sources from power structures of Chechnya believe.

"The explosions in the Leninsky and Oktiabrskiy Districts of Grozny, which happened in the evening on February 8, do not fall under the definition of a 'terror act'. The information about them was wrongly presented by the media," said a spokesman from the regional law enforcement bodies.

"The two explosions, which occurred at 7:45 and 8:00 p.m. in Lermontov Street in Grozny, were apparently directed against a private security officer at the local MIA. One small-power explosive device was triggered in the garbage bin near the officer' house; the second one - under his Toyota ...

The office of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" in Grozny was approached by Magomed Edilov, 51, a local resident and a friend of a resident of the Moscow Region, who perished in a special operation in Chechnya. Mr Edilov complained of being harassed by FSB agents.

According to his story, his problems started after his friend Nikita Blashkov, 26, a native of Ramenskoye, Moscow Region, was killed in Chechnya under unclear circumstances.

Edilov said that on October 21 Blashkov was in the train from Moscow to Grozny aiming to visit him, and he told about it to Magomed by phone. The latter was supposed to meet him on October 23 at 6:40 a.m. Moscow time in the village of Chervlyonaya, Shelkovskoy District of Chechnya, but Blashkov never came.

"Later Edilov learnt that the middle of the ...