Old Chechen Report With Potentially Useful Links, References (Boston Bombing)

http://caucasus.wikispaces.com/

A few years ago, a group of very good student analysts had the opportunity to work on a report on the insurgency in the North Caucasus (including Chechnya).  While old, the report is online and might contain some useful open source information for those looking into the Boston Marathon bombing incident.  I highlight it "for what it is worth".

The question the students were asked to examine does not seem (to me, at least) to be very relevant to the investigation:

What is the current severity and effectiveness of the insurgency in the North and South Caucasus regions (in regards to the quantitative and geographic growth and spread of violence) and how is it likely to change between now and the 2008 Russian Presidential election?

What are the capabilities and effectiveness of Russian military and security forces to combat the insurgency?

That said, and looking at it today, I think there might be some value in the large amount of background information they were able to collect, their link analysis of the various insurgency groups in the region, and their resources page (which includes a number of links to various maps of the area - I find it particularly interesting that the CommunityWalk maps they built identifying all of the attacks in the region still seem to be working!).

I have lost track of most of the students who wrote the report but I suspect they are working as analysts today and may even be working this issue.  If so, good luck to you all - you did a great job back then and I am certain you are doing a great job today!