Before he disappeared and was found dead, Kuashev had received threats from police after being detained in May to curtail his attending the funeral procession held on the 150th anniversary of the ending of the Caucasian War. He told others, "Employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) had informed some national leaders that I was going to organize a provocation at the march on May 21, namely, to come there with Islamic banners. I declare that it's an absolute lie." The "Kavkazsky Uzel", an independent regional website, reported that the police who detained Kuashev threatened him in response to his blog posts which criticizing law enforcement. "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported that police told Kuashev, "Continue on this path and this will bite you in the ass."