Putin’s Caucasian Games

File Photo of Sochi Olympics Banner Near Highway in Warm Weather with Vehicle and Cyclicsts Nearby

(Bloomberg editorial – Bloomberg.com – January 3, 2014) Russian President Vladimir Putin clearly intends next month’s Winter Olympics in Sochi as a showcase for the country’s re-emergence as a global power. Given his recent diplomatic coups in Syria and Ukraine, maybe he thinks that he has plenty to show off. Yet this week’s twin suicide bombings in Volgograd, which killed […]

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Investigation into Volgograd terror attacks brings some results – NAC

Large Mother Russia Statue Near Volgograd

MOSCOW. Jan 2 (Interfax) – The law enforcement authorities are investigating the terror attacks perpetrated in Volgograd on December 29 and 30, the National Antiterrorism Committee said. The efforts have already yielded some results, it noted. The explosions at the Volgograd railroad station on December 29 and on a trolley bus on December 30 killed 34 people and injured dozens. […]

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More Ethnic Russians are Converting to Islam and a Few are Becoming Terrorists

Russian Mosque File Photo

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, January 2, 2013) Official identification of one of the terrorist bombers in Volgograd as an ethnic Russian from Mari El who converted to Islam and fought on the side of the militants in Daghestan has attracted attention to a trend that most Russians have been reluctant to discuss: the growing number of […]

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Putin Urges Increased Security Across Russia After Bombings

Large Mother Russia Statue Near Volgograd

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Stephen Bierman – January 2, 2014) Russian President Vladimir Putin called for increased security across the world’s largest country after a pair of suicide bombings killed more than 30 people before the Sochi Winter Olympic Games in February. Authorities have detained more than 700 people as officers, including teams with search dogs, investigate the attacks on […]

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Interfax: MP Starshinov urges counter-propaganda, covert intelligence in fight against religious extremism

Map of Russia

MOSCOW. Dec 31 (Interfax) – Russian Popular Front Central Council member, head of the inter-faction group for interaction between civil society, police and security services Mikhail Starshinov (United Russia) has proposed a number of operative measures regarding the Volgograd terror attacks. “I am confident that we need to increase the number of investigators, especially in the North Caucasus, and to […]

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World Leaders Rally Behind Russia After Volgograd Attacks

Large Mother Russia Statue Near Volgograd

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – December 31, 2013) Several world leaders have offered their support and condolences over the deadly bombings in Volgograd while the Russian Foreign Ministry called for joint efforts to fight terror attacks that follow “the same template” around the world. In a statement on Monday, the Foreign Ministry said that Russia “will not […]

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Putin’s Counter-Terrorism Strategy Designed to Protect State Not People, Soldatov Says

Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, December 31, 2013) Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin defined terrorism as any action which killed a large number of people, but under Vladimir Putin, Russia’s leading independent specialist on its intelligence community says, terrorism has been redefined as “‘a policy of intimidation and pressure on the organs of power.’” That change is […]

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Interfax: Russia’s enemy are seeking introduction death penalty in Russia – Lukin

Vladimir Lukin file photo

MOSCOW. Dec 30 (Interfax) – Russian human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin has condemned the calls for toughening the Russian legislation and lifting the moratorium on the death penalty as a reaction to the terrorist attacks in Volgograd. “We shouldn’t give in to all hysterical calls to toughen everything, close everything, and introduce the death penalty. It’s what our enemies are […]

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Interfax: Terrorists cannot be called humans, deserve no mercy – head of Caucasus Muslim Board

Kremlin and St. Basil's

MOSCOW. Dec 31 (Interfax) – The head of the Muslim Board of the Caucasus, Allahshukur Pashazadeh, has extended his condolences following the deadly terrorist attacks in Russia’s southern city of Volgograd. “It is absolutely obvious that the terrorist attacks were meant to incite ethnic and religious hatred between people. Islam, as a religion of peace and creation, resolutely condemns the […]

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Interfax: Attempts to hold nationalist rallies due to terrorist attacks in Volgograd are unacceptable – Federation Council

Large Mother Russia Statue Near Volgograd

MOSCOW. Dec 30 (Interfax) – The attempts to hold any nationalist rallies due to terrorist attacks in Volgograd are unacceptable, the Russian Federation Council said. “Amid the current situation various nationalist movements should not be allowed to earn points with this tragedy, terrorist attacks and people’s grief. Appeals for nationalist gatherings are voiced in Volgograd. Such rallies will play into […]

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Russia Bombings Raise Specter of Olympics Terrorist Attacks

File Photo of Sochi Olympics Banner Near Highway in Warm Weather with Vehicle and Cyclicsts Nearby

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Henry Meyer and Ben Priechenfried – December 31, 2013) Two bomb attacks in southern Russia before the country hosts the Winter Olympics are raising concerns that militants active in the region will target the games to gain international attention. The main threat is attacks by Muslim separatist groups in the North Caucasus that are at war […]

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Volgograd Explosion Highlights Putin’s Failure in Fight against Terrorism, Russian Blogger Says

Large Mother Russia Statue Near Volgograd

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, December 30, 2013) Vladimir Putin rose to power “under the slogan of the struggle with terrorism,” and he has routinely invoked that challenge to justify the growth of his security agencies and the harshest measures against society; but as the terrorist incident in Volgograd yesterday shows, the Kremlin leader is failing in […]

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In Wake Of Repeated Bombings, A Question: Why Volgograd?

Large Mother Russia Statue Near Volgograd

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Daisy Sindelar – December 30, 2013) Dual bombings in the Russian city of Volgograd have left more than 30 people dead and scores more injured. Why has Volgograd — and not Moscow or Sochi — become the repeated target of terror attacks? Until this autumn, Volgograd was a relatively quiet Russian city, known best for its […]

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Parents of Volgograd Train Station Bomber Pleaded for His Return

Kremlin and St. Basil's file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – December 30, 2013) [Videos here http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/parents-of-volgograd-train-station-bomber-pleaded-for-his-return-video/492336.html] The Volgograd train station bomb that killed at least 17 people on Sunday was set off by a Russian man from the nearby region of Mary El who had converted to Islam and joined Dagestani militants, officials said. The suspect, identified as Pavel Pechyonkin, worked as […]

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Interfax: Most Russians say tensions remain in North Caucasus – poll

Map of Chechnya and Environs

MOSCOW. Dec 4 (Interfax) – Russians think that the North Caucasian situation remains tense and do not expect stabilization of the situation soon, Levada Center told Interfax. Only 17% of the respondents claim that the North Caucasus is calm and prosperous, and 63% say there are tensions. Ten percent of 1,603 respondents polled in 130 towns and cities in 45 […]

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Interfax: Russians less confident of authorities’ ability to avert terror attacks – VTsIOM

Kremlin and St. Basil's file photo

MOSCOW. Dec 2 (Interfax) – The number of Russians fearing they may fall victim to terrorist attacks has grown after the Volgograd bus bombing while confidence in the authorities’ ability to protect the population from new terrorist acts is on decline, sociologists said. Some 70% of Russians feared becoming victims of terrorist attacks in 2012. The percentage grew to 78% […]

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ANNOUNCEMENT: New White Papers [re: Terrorism, Caucasus, Sochi Olympics, Boston Marathon bombing]

File Photo of Sochi Olympics Banner Near Highway in Warm Weather with Vehicle and Cyclicsts Nearby

Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 0 From: GORDON HAHN <gordon-hahn@sbcglobal.net> Subject: New white papers ANNOUNCEMENT The Geostrategic Forecasting Corporation has posted the first of its white papers: Gordon M. Hahn, The Caucasus Emirate Comes to America: The Boston Marathon Bombing (Chicago, Ill.: GFC, October 2013 Gordon M. Hahn, The Caucasus Emirate Threat to the Sochi Winter Olympics (Chicago, Ill.: GFC, […]

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Interfax: Russians still fear terror attacks in big cities – poll

Kremlin and St. Basil's file photo

MOSCOW. Nov 15 (Interfax) – Two-thirds of Russians (66%) say new terror attacks of the kind that happened in Volgograd in October are possible and 71% fear that their kin or themselves may fall victim to such crimes, Levada Center told Interfax. Fifteen percent gave a negative answer to the question whether a new terror attack was possible, and 19% […]

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Paying for terror in Russia

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – November 14, 2013) On November 2, President Vladimir Putin signed a controversial law changing Russia’s anti-terrorism legislation, enabling law enforcement authorities to confiscate the property of relatives of anyone who has committed a terror attack. The Moscow News has asked five experts to weigh in on whether the law will work and […]

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RIA Novosti: Polish President Apologizes for Attack on Russian Embassy

Polish and Russian Flags

WARSAW, November 13 (RIA Novosti) ­ The president of Poland apologized to Russia on Wednesday for the attack by a nationalist mob on the Russian Embassy in Warsaw, calling the episode outrageous and unjustifiable. “We need to apologize on behalf of the Polish state,” President Bronislaw Komorowski told privately owned broadcaster Radio Zet. Thousands of people paraded through Warsaw on […]

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Shoigu Says NATO and Terrorism Russia’s Top Challenges

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimws.com – Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – November 11, 2013) Terrorism and NATO’s expansion at Russia’s borders are the country’s two main security threats, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Saturday, hinting at a renewal of the armed forces’ strategic and doctrinal direction after years of failed reforms. During an interview broadcasted on Rossia 1, Shoigu cited Syria, Afghanistan, Mali […]

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Interfax: Law on terrorist’s family liability for damage to enter into force on Nov 17

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Interfax – November 6, 2013) The law, which holds kith and kin of terrorists liable for the damage done by terrorist attacks, will enter into force on November 17. The president signed the law in early November. The Federal Law “On Adjustment of Some Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation”, which amends the Russian Criminal Code, the Russian Civil Code […]

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Critics Call New Russian Counterterror Law A Return To ‘Collective Justice’

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Tom Balmforth – MOSCOW, November 4, 2013) Critics say a new law designed to quell the insurgency in Russia’s restive North Caucasus region revives the Stalin-era principles of collective guilt and collective justice. President Vladimir Putin signed the legislation on November 3, requiring “close relatives and acquaintances” of those who commit acts of “terrorism” to pay […]

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Russia To Hold Relatives Of ‘Terrorists’ Financially Responsible For Material Damage

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Liz Fuller – November 4, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law the controversial bill he introduced into the Russian parliament six weeks ago amending the Criminal Code to expand the number of offenses classified as terrorism and require the relatives of people deemed to have committed acts of terrorism to pay financial compensation […]

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On your marks, get set… intercept!

File Photo of Sochi Olympics Banner Near Highway in Warm Weather with Vehicle and Cyclicsts Nearby

(opendemocracy.net – Mark Galeotti – October 29, 2013) Mark Galeotti is Professor of Global Affairs at New York University’s SCPS Center for Global Affairs. He blogs on Russian security affairs at In Moscow’s Shadows and tweets as @MarkGaleotti. His most recent book is Russian Security and Paramilitary Forces since 1991 (Osprey, 2013) Russia is devoting considerable effort to trying to […]

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Obama Joins Putin War as Syria Jihadists Stalk Olympics

File Photo of Sochi Olympics Banner Near Highway in Warm Weather with Vehicle and Cyclicsts Nearby

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Ilya Arkhipov and Henry Meyer – October 25, 2013) President Vladimir Putin is turning to Barack Obama for help protecting the costliest Winter Games ever from attacks by Islamic extremists, including hundreds of battle-hardened jihadists now fighting in Syria. About 400 Russian nationals, mainly from the North Caucasus, are currently battling President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in […]

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Russia’s Female Suicide Bombers: Well-Organized and Hard to Stop

Map of European Portion of Former Soviet Union

MOSCOW, October 24 (Nabi Abdullaev, RIA Novosti) – Investigators say that moments after Naida Asiyalova, a wan 30-year-old from Russia’s violence-plagued republic of Dagestan, boarded a public bus one afternoon this week in the city of Volgograd, the bomb she was carrying exploded, claiming six lives. The apparent attack serves as another reminder of the grim effectiveness of female suicide […]

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Volgograd Bus Bomb Victims Laid to Rest as Police Hunt Bomber’s Husband

Map of European Portion of Former Soviet Union

VOLGOGRAD, October 23 (RIA Novosti) ­ The first funerals for the victims of a bomb blast on a bus near the south Russian city of Volgograd were held Wednesday as Russian officials continued their inquiry into the deadly suicide bombing. The suspected female suicide bomber, identified as 30-year-old Naida Asiyalova, from Dagestan, blew herself up on the bus Monday, killing […]

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Volgograd Terror Attack: Loathing and Loneliness

Map of European Portion of Former Soviet Union

(RIA Novosti – Natalia Antonova, Acting Editor-in-Chief, The Moscow News – October 22, 2013) Perhaps one of the saddest aspects of the suicide bombing in Volgograd this week ­ assuming we were forced to pick one such aspect ­ is the amount of young people caught up in it. Among the wounded is a toddler. On top of that, that […]

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Russian Suicide Bomb Spurs Terror Alert as Putin Meets Muftis

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Henry Meyer and Ilya Arkhipov – October 22, 2013) Russian investigators probed yesterday’s suicide bombing that killed six bus passengers in Volgograd as the southern region was placed on high alert hours before President Vladimir Putin met Muslim clerics. The suspected female suicide bomber arrived from the capital of the mainly Muslim region of Dagestan, disembarking […]

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Russia Again Caught Between Disintegration and Dictatorship, Editor Says

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, October 17, 2013) The Russian Federation finds itself in a Zugswang, a German term for a situation in which any move leads to a loss, according to the editor of “Kulturolog.” And in its case, the situation is especially dire because the country increasingly finds itself forced to choose between disintegration and […]

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Three Disturbing New Russian Legal Initiatives

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, October 16, 2013) The Kremlin’s moves against the principles of the Russian Constitution and basic human rights are currently coming at such a rapid pace that it is difficult to keep up with its assault on what remains of democracy in that country. This week alone featured three initiatives that are particularly […]

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Interfax: Expert says there are about one million Islamists in Russia

Map of European Portion of Former Soviet Union

(Interfax – October 11, 2013) Some one million Russian Muslims are radicals, Roman Silantyev, deputy head of the expert council for the state theological review under the Justice Ministry, has said, as reported by privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax on 11 October. “On the whole, the number of Islamists in Russia may be approximately estimated at one million people, i.e. […]

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Russians are still afraid of terrorist acts – poll

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Interfax – September 30, 2013, 2013) Over half of the Russians polled by Levada Center (62 percent) said they believe they or their relatives and loved ones could be hurt by terrorist attacks, Levada Center told Interfax. The poll, which was conducted on September 20-24, surveyed 1,601 people in 130 populated areas of 45 regions of Russia. Only 12 percent […]

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Russia’s North Caucasus, Islamists seen as main terrorist threats – poll

Map of Chechnya and Environs

(Interfax – September 7, 2013) A majority of Russians (55 per cent) are confident, to greater or lesser extent, that the authorities are able to protect the public from new terrorist attacks, Russian Interfax news agency reported on 3 September, quoting the All-Russia Public Opinion Research Centre (VTsIOM). (1) This answer has become more popular over the past three years […]

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U.S., Russia in Anti-Terror Exercise

File Photo of Airplane Approaching Runway About to Land

(RIA Novosti – WASHINGTON, August 27, 2013) ­ While the United States and Russia might be engaging in a war of words over Syria, Edward Snowden, adoption and gay rights, the differences are not stopping the two countries from joining together with Canada in an anti-terror exercise this week. Fighter jets from the joint US and Canadian North American Aerospace […]

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Research report on the Boston Marathon attack

Boston Bombings Suspects File Photo Adapted from FBI Image

From: “Hahn, Gordon M.” <ghahn@miis.edu> Subject: Research report on the Boston Marathon attack Date: Tue, 18 Jun 2013 ANNOUNCEMENT A special 25-page research report on the Boston Marathon attack: ‘The Caucasus Emirate Comes to America: The Boston Marathon Attack’ will soon be available.   For a copy please send an email request to gordon-hahn@sbcglobal.net. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY What I have been warning […]

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G8 leaders tackle taxes, Syria, North Korea and terrorism

File Photo of G8 Heads of State Outdoors in 2013

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yuri Paniyev, special to RBTH – June 18, 2013) With the G8 summit in full swing in Northern Ireland, the world’s leaders try to tackle financial and international challenges including tax evasion, the Middle East stand-off, the Syrian crisis and the North Korea nuclear problem. G8 leaders began their two-day summit at the […]

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Russian Security Service chief worried about extremism being spread online

File Photo of Partial FSB Headquarters Building Facade

(Interfax – June 11, 2013) The director of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), Aleksandr Bortnikov, has said that social networksand shortcomings in migration laws contribute to the proliferation of extremism in Russia. His comments at a session of the National Antiterrorist Committee were reported by the Interfax news agency on 11 June. “Part of the internet has become a […]

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FSB cooperates with FBI, CIA in Boston terror attack investigation – Bortnikov

File Photo of Boston Bombings Aftermath with Ambulance and Security Personnel

(Interfax – KAZAN, June 6, 2013) The Federal Security Service is cooperating with the U.S. security services in the investigation of the Boston terror attack, FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov said. “We are cooperating very actively with our FBI and CIA colleagues, responding to their requests and assisting in the arrangement of necessary procedures on the Russian territory,” he said on […]

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Will U.S. and Russia increase anti-terror cooperation before Sochi 2014?

File Photo of Sochi Olympics Banner Near Highway in Warm Weather with Vehicle and Cyclicsts Nearby

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Pavel Koshkin, RBTH – June 3, 2013) U.S. congressmen and the Russian Federal Security Services hope to boost joint collaboration against global jihad and Islamism in time for the Sochi Winter Olympics. During a recent visit to Russia by U.S. congressmen, Moscow and Washington seemed to find an agreement over the need for […]

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Russians to Get Access to FBI Data

FBI Headquarters Building file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – May 27, 2013) After the Boston bombings last month and ahead of the Winter Olympics in Sochi next February, U.S. authorities are expanding their work with the Interior Ministry by granting the Russians access to some FBI information. The development, which came during a visit by Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev to the […]

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Will spy scandal hamper U.S.-Russia collaboration on Sochi Olympics security?

File Photo of Partial FSB Headquarters Building Facade

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Mark Galeotti, special to RBTH – May 27, 2013) New York University’s Professor of Global Affairs Mark Galeotti reflects on the long-term consequences of the recent spy scandal and whether it will affect U.S.-Russia cooperation on security during the 2014 Olympics. The Moscow spy case, with its cheap wigs, compasses and cash, initially […]

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Russian Intelligence Agency Warns of Rise in Terror Threat

Map of Afghanistan and Environs

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, May 23, 2013) ­ Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, expects the Taliban influence in Afghanistan to grow after international coalition forces are pulled out, while rising radicalism in Syria could lead to the country’s disintegration, the GRU chief said on Thursday. Lt. Gen. Igor Sergun said the situation in Afghanistan poses a “serious challenge to […]

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Russian analysts: immigrants, guest workers fertile ground for radical Islamism

Russian Mosque File Photo

(Interfax / Religion – Moscow, May 15, 2013) The head of a Russian policy think tank has argued that immigrants and guest workers who have come to Russia from Muslim republics of the former Soviet Union are potentially a fertile environment for radical Islamist ideas and called for tighter restrictions on immigration and guest labor. “The migrants are hostile toward […]

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Radicalization of Tsarnaev Brothers Likely Did Not Occur in Chechnya

Boston Bombings Suspects File Photo Adapted from FBI Image

(Eurasia Daily Monitor – Volume 10, Issue 88 – Mairbek Vatchagaev – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – May 9, 2013) The role of the brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the Boston bombings is assessed differently on either side of the Atlantic. In the United States, few doubt they are terrorists and that the youngest son, Dzhokhar, who remains alive, […]

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Tsarnaevs’ Story Reveals Web of Ethnic Ties and Tensions in CIS

Boston Bombings Suspects File Photo Adapted from FBI Image

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – May 8, 2013) When the parents of “Misha,” the enigmatic Ukrainian-Armenian convert to Islam who allegedly helped radicalize Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, moved to the United States in the 1990s, they likely could not have imagined that their son would eventually be accused of coaching a Muslim terrorist. Yury Allakhverdov, a […]

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Why Tamerlan Tsarnaev Is Outside of Chechen Mentality

Boston Bombings Suspects File Photo Adapted from FBI Image

(Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 10, Issue 83 – Mairbek Vatchagaev – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – May 2, 2013) Why did Tamerlan Tsarnaev­ – one of the alleged April 15 Boston Marathon bombers who died in a shoot-out with police on April 18 – ­not demand an end to the bloodshed in Dagestan, but was instead interested in what happened […]

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The Uphill Job of Mending Fences with the Kremlin

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Leaning Towards Barack Hussein Obama With Flags Behind Them

(Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 10, Issue 83 – Pavel Felgenhauer – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – May 2, 2013) Speaking to reporters after last week’s (April 25) lengthy, televised, national question-and-answer (Q & A) session, President Vladimir Putin declared he “was optimistic this tragedy [the April 15 Boston Marathon bombing] will facilitate greater security cooperation, benefiting both America and Russia” […]

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re: Jackson Diehl on Extremists; from: John Evans

File Photo of Boston Bombings Aftermath with Ambulance and Security Personnel

Subject: Jackson Diehl on Extremists From: John Evans <evansinusa@aol.com> Date: Thu, 2 May 2013 Jackson Diehl’s attempt to conflate the Chechen rebels with the Syrian rebels (“Extremists of Putin’s Own Making,” Washington Post op-ed, April 29, JRL #80) and then blame it all on the Russian President risks misleading readers into imagining that Russia, not Islamist extremism, is our current […]

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