The criminal case against Nadezhda showed the government's corruption.

The prosecution of Mikhail Nadezhin, head of the Kabardino-Balkarian Ministry of Emergency Situations, was initiated in the republic and is linked to the interests of local clans, not the federal authorities. Paying officials favors for resolving issues is common in all regions of the North Caucasus, according to analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot."

As "Caucasian Knot" reported, on September 30, Mikhail Nadezhin, head of the Kabardino-Balkarian Ministry of Emergency Situations, was detained in connection with a 2 million ruble bribe. Also detained were businessman Anzor Nogmov, whom investigators suspect of bribing Nadezhin, and Khasan Appoyev, deputy head of the republic's Ministry of Emergency Situations for counterterrorism. A Moscow court arrested Nadezhin and Nogmov.

Mikhail Nadezhin is an example of a "systemic" official who rose through the ranks in a single agency within the republic, according to Umar Tatiev, editor of the Kavkaz-leakbez Telegram channel.

"He truly did rise through the ranks, never showing off or being a bully." He was respected. Although they admitted that everyone in Kabardino-Balkaria was somehow making money from their positions. "The arrest was a shock for many," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

In his opinion, the confidence in impunity led to the official's arrest.

"Of course, any leadership position in a federal agency in a region is key in the distribution of budgets and the conclusion of contracts. And he was most likely caught through carelessness. He pinched first small things, then bigger ones, over the course of 10 years. He lost his vigilance," Tatiev noted, suggesting that there could be other charges.

In his opinion, certain political clans or interest groups could have been connected with Nadezhdin in Kabardino-Balkaria, given his long tenure in power.

"Definitely, these are those who run the construction business in the region and Housing and communal services. And in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, as in other regions, it's common for businessmen to pay officials for "signatures," circumventing regulations. This practice is common in all regions of the North Caucasus Federal District. Neither businessmen nor officials even consider it a bribe. It's more like the rules of the game. It's like the tax imposed on all officials in Chechnya by the Kadyrov Fund. Each signature is either an envelope or a gift. And in this context, I'd also like to add that it's unlikely this criminal case is a large-scale federal operation. "This is more of a local story," he pointed out.

KBR activist Martin Kochesoko* also believes that the criminal case The attack against the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations is not a large-scale operation by the federal center.

"This position, in my opinion, doesn't play a significant role in the republic. Apparently, he didn't please someone higher up," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

In his opinion, a leadership position in the Kabardino-Balkarian Ministry of Emergency Situations is an opportunity to become part of a corrupt system.

"I am convinced that there are practically no non-corrupt officials left in the republic—anyone can be held accountable for one violation or another. Without participating in the system and without committing certain violations for which you can then be held accountable, it is impossible to advance in the ranks. This has become one of the key principles of governance: through such mechanisms, control is exercised over every official, and this is what the entire vertical of power rests on,” Kochesoko* noted.

The activist believes that Nadezhin became a victim of larger corrupt groups.

“If any of the officials was arrested or a criminal case was opened against him, this most likely means that he found himself in the epicenter of a struggle between competing groups within the government, did not please someone from influential people - or both,” he pointed out.

Political scientist Andrei Gusiy does not agree that this criminal case is part of an operation by the federal center.

“This story is going on "The Ministry of Emergency Situations runs parallel to regional authorities; they don't intersect," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

In his opinion, there's a trend of criminal cases against corrupt officials across the country.

"And this isn't just in the Caucasus, but across Russia as a whole. It's a curious trend across all regions," he said.

A public figure from Kabardino-Balkaria considers Nadezhda a classic example of a local, irreplaceable official.

"He went from a rank-and-file employee to head of the department in 14 years, without rotation. His continued power after the 2016 case speaks to a powerful protection racket—most likely at the level of the Kabardino-Balkarian governor's office. Back then, the case was hushed up, typical of the republican system, where the federal center prefers stability to showy purges. The second case, however, clearly indicates a shift in the power structure. Nadezhdin has clearly lost his protection—either the region's overseers at the federal level have changed, or a conflict has erupted within the republican elite. Carelessness has nothing to do with it—corruption schemes within the Ministry of Emergency Situations have existed for years, but they were previously "contractual." Now someone has decided to renegotiate those agreements. "Perhaps this is a showdown within the Ministry of Emergency Situations," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to him, Nadezhin got along well with all the influential clans.

"Being Russian in a national republic, he established good relations with everyone, because the Ministry of Emergency Situations in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic is one of the key agencies in terms of control over financial flows. Control over fire safety at all commercial facilities alone means billions of rubles in government contracts and informal payments. Everyone wanted to be friends with Nadezhin, because without "agreements," not a single shopping center, cafe, or hotel would open. This is not the exception, but the rule of doing business. Everyone knows this, everyone participates in it," he noted.

* is listed as a foreign agent.

** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.