According to Mr. Kozak, the possibility of civil war was great. At the same time, he stressed that measures like the seizure of a government building were unacceptable to force a change of government. Such things should be done within the framework of the Constitution, using all necessary political resources, the presidential envoy noted.

He met with the families of the murdered businessmen and promised them that guilty officials would be punished. He also assured the relatives that a thorough investigation into the killings would be carried out. Mustafa Batdyev, President of Karachaevo-Cherkessia, also took part in the meeting.

On November 9, a demonstration in protest against the killing of seven local businessmen was held in Cherkessk. The protesters seized the government headquarters. They demanded a meeting with President Mustafa Batdyev. Local prosecutors opened a criminal case against the protesters.

The bodies of the seven businessmen were found in a mountain quarry near the Kumysh village on November 8. Rasul Bogatyrev, a member of the local parliament, and his friends were shareholders in a chemical plant in Cherkessk.

The seven men disappeared on October 11, 2004. Their relatives said the businessmen had been invited to the summer house of Mustafa Batdyev’s son-in-law. According to them, shooting was heard from the cottage. Ali Kaitov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kavkaz Cement company and a deputy of Karachaevo-Cherkessia’s parliament, was detained on suspicion of involvement in the killings.