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The day before the elections has started quietly. No shot was heard at night in Chechnya.

Human rights activists stress that, after the referendum of March 23, which paved the way for presidential elections, crimes against civil population have become more frequent in Chechnya, especially cases of taking people hostage and kidnapping.

On Sunday, October 5, 2003, the elections of the republic's president are to be held in Chechnya. Seven candidates are running for the presidency.

The interview with the candidate for the Chechen presidency was conducted via phone by Roman Rostov, a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"The precautions will help to prevent provocations by rebels on election day," a source at the Chechen Interior Ministry said.

Russian Minister for Chechnya's Affairs Stanislav Ilyasov believes the refugees' unwillingness to leave Georgia is caused in many respects by the purpose-full work on spreading misinformation among them.

The Antiwar Club and the Committee for Antiwar Actions made a decision to conduct a literary and publicistic contest of short narratives and essays "Chechen War in My Life" (by Rashid Polukhin's project).

Unidentified gunmen fired automatic weapons at a Volga car carrying the administration head and his son.

The interview with the Chechen presidential contender Ovukhat Khanchukayev was conducted by Ruslan Umarov, a correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot".

On October 30, Chechen refugees living in the center of temporary accommodation "LogoVAZ" in the town of Nazran were offered to leave the territory of the camp, the offer having the nature of an ultimatum.

A new Russian-Georgian information and analytical website www.pankisi.info was launched on October 1. This is a joint project of the Center of Journalism in Extreme Situations and the Caucasian Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development.

The tent camp "Bella", which was situated on the outskirt of the Ordzhonikidzevskaya village, Ingushetia's Sunzha district, ceased to exist de facto and de jure on October 1. The last two tents were carried from the former place of temporary accommodation "Bella" to the neighboring camp of Chechen refugees "Satsita" yesterday.

"Georgian legislation does not provide for opening of polling stations for refugees, therefore Chechen refugees can not take part in the Chechen presidential elections," the minister explained speaking at the press conference in Tbilisi.

The statement reads, "We call upon the UNHCR, international humanitarian organizations, Russian human rights organizations to express their attitude to the illegal actions of the Russian authorities on the tent camp "Bella" liquidation and demand that the Russian leadership should leave off the practice of forced liquidation of tent camps and centers of temporary accommodation of Chechen refugees of the territory of Ingushetia."

The third number of the Moscow Helsinki Group Bulletin, which came out on October 1, proceeds with the theme of the human rights monitoring of the presidential elections in Chechnya.