On 9 January 2017 the Caucasian Knot said it would take legal action after Chechen Parliament Speaker Magomed Daudov threatened the news outlet's editor-in-chief Grigory Shvedov [sometimes 'Gregory Shvedov' in English publications] on Instagram. As The Moscow Times reported: 'The speaker of Chechnya's parliament, Magomed Daudov, who also goes by the nickname “Lord,” published a picture on his Instagram account on Jan. 4 of a dog with its tongue tied into a knot. The pictured was accompanied by the text: “How to untie the Caucasian Knot?” In a comment alongside the photo, Daudov described the dog as “a mongrel nicknamed 'Swede,'” in an apparent reference to Grigory Shvedov who is the chief editor of the Caucasian Knot news agency. In Russian, “Shvedov” closely resembles the word for “Swedish.” “He puts out his long tongue, ties it into a dangerous 'Caucasian knot' and starts yapping,” the parliamentarian wrote. “It's time to call the vet with the large pliers,” he continued. “To pull a couple of 'wisdom' teeth from the Swede and shorten his tongue to a normal size”. Shvedov told the Kommersant business daily on Monday that the agency's lawyers were preparing to lodge a complaint with the Investigative Committee on charges of obstructing journalism.'
On 10 January 2017 a 'Statement of Solidarity with Grigory Shvedov in Defence of Freedom of Expression in the Chechen Republic' was published by human rights defenders, civil society activists and journalists which expressed solidarity with Grigory Shvedov and, among other things, called on the law enforcement agencies to conduct an effective investigation into the threats and hold Magomed Daudov to account.