Experts state spread of Caucasian militants over Russia

The recent murder of Zalim Shebzukhov and his alleged supporters in Saint Petersburg indicates that the Caucasian militants are gradually spreading over Russian regions, said the experts, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 17, power agents conducted a special operation in Saint Petersburg, in which four people were killed, including Zalim Shebzukhov, one of the leaders of North-Caucasian militants.

The fact that Shebzukhov could freely reach Petersburg from the Caucasus means a serious lack of control over the movement of Russian citizens, Orkhan Jemal, a reporter for the “Forbes”, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to his version, we cannot exclude that many militant leaders, less known to the broad public, could have spread throughout Russia. At the same time, it is hard to say whether they represent a serious threat – now, the armed underground has no clear structure; and relationships among groupings are broken.

The Shebzukhov’s case is not unique, Caucasian militants began leaving for various Russian regions long before the advent to the region of the IS (organization banned in Russia by the court, – note of the "Caucasian Knot"), said Alexei Malashenko a member of the Scientific Council of the Moscow Carnegie Centre.

"The reason is in the uneasy conditions for their activities in the Caucasus and inability to commit something serious. In general, Islam is strongly spreading all over Russia," Mr Malashenko told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

At the same time, he fears that law enforcers lack the required technical means to trace the travels of active and potential militants. However, in his opinion, power agents have no grounds to believe that Shebzukhov, while in Saint Petersburg, could prepare a terror act.

Akhmet Yarlykapov, a senior fellow at the Centre for Ethno-Political Studies of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), agrees that Shebzukhov had come to Saint Petersburg not to commit a terror act.

"It’s hard to believe that the militant leader came in person to commit a terror act – it’s not his level. Maybe Shebzukhov was trying to ‘get out of the game’ and leave for Finland,” Mr Yarlykapov has suggested.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.