Terrorist attacks in the Russian Federation

The high level of terrorist threat to the security of the Russian Federation, which has been persisting for decades, is a process of many aspects. The conducted internal policy, involvement in armed conflicts in Ukraine and in Syria, the unstable situation in the Caucasus and the undertaken international co-operation have a significant impact on the activation of terrorist groups in Russia. Already in 2012, before the series of attacks in the French Republic, the on-going conflict in the North Caucasus was described as the most brutal in Europe. Since 2007, Russia has started to cope with international terrorism. What is even worse, it has undergone evolution, permanently destabilizing the internal security of the state. The recent attacks have been associated with the emergence of extremist groups from the Middle East, such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, and their cooperation with rebels from the South and North Caucasus. International terrorist groups began their expansion into the whole territory of the Russian Federation, mobilizing the local government to undertake activities counteracting terrorism. Nowadays, the situation is slowly returning to normal, but new threats are still worth noting. The past experience and new threats of attacks urge us to re-analyse the current situation and define the goals of the anti-terrorist actions of the Russian Federation. This is also important in view of the consequences for other countries which are immediate neighbours of Russia, including possible terrorist consequences for Poland.

The Jewish community in Chechnya and Dagestan. Historical view

The author proposed a text in which he showed the most important events of Jewish people in Dagestan and Chechnya. Author showed statistics the number of Jews in the late years too and problems between Jewish and Chechens, other citizens in Dagestan.

Islam in the Post-Soviet area – Caucasus

Islam is seen as a homogeneous religion. It is a common belief that the synonymous of Muslim is Arab. Meanwhile, according to statistics of 2013, Muslims constitute over a 28% of the world population. The followers are spread all over the globe and can be found in every country. Thus, speaking about homogeneity and identification of all believers with the Arab world is a serious mistake. Islam in the post-Soviet area, has a characteristic dimension. Caucasian republics, initially conquered by Muslim Empires in the majority submitted to Islamisation. The Soviet reign and atheistic propaganda weakened religion, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Caucasus and Central Asia experienced the revival of Islam. Today Georgia is a Christian country with a Muslim minority, Dagestan is the most Islamized Caucasian republic with Sunni majority while in Azerbaijan Sunnis are a minority compared with Shiites. Therefore, how much similar and how much different is Islam in Azerbaijan, Dagestan and Georgia?