Tajikistan is increasingly coming into the spotlight as a hotbed of jihadism

Although the Russian authorities want their own people to believe that the attack was masterminded by Ukraine, they appear to be increasingly concerned about the theory for which there are indications: that Russia has been hit by an attack by the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group. IS claimed responsibility for the attack and has also been linked to the attack by Western intelligence services. The four main suspects arrested are from Tajikistan, a country struggling with extremism.

Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged earlier this week, amid accusations against Ukraine, that the attackers are “radical Islamists.” Two days after the attack, Putin called his ally Emomalii Rachmon, president of Tajikistan since 1994. They agreed to “intensify” joint anti-terrorist measures.

The Kremlin has been concerned for years that jihadists are advancing to Russia via Central Asia. A point of concern is the long border (1,350 kilometers) between Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Following the US departure from Afghanistan in 2021 and the subsequent takeover by the Taliban, Russia strengthened its military base in Tajikistan and held military exercises in the border area. Russia also assists Tajikistan with border control.

Repressive regime

Tajikistan itself has been conducting a repressive regime against religious extremism since a five-year civil war (1992-1997) between secular and Islamist groups. But deep poverty has left the country vulnerable to IS’s attempts to recruit members from among the population. Investigations indicate that 1,300 to 2,000 Tajiks traveled to Syria and Iraq in the previous decade to fight for the then IS caliphate. This made the Tajiks one of the largest groups within IS, which sees Russia as an enemy because of Putin’s military support for Syrian President Assad.

Discriminated against in Russia

The IS branch ‘Khorasan’ recruits specifically in Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries. For example, the terrorist group spreads propaganda in Tajik and Uzbek, according to the American SITE Intelligence Group. The millions of Tajik migrant workers in Russia are also sometimes vulnerable to IS propaganda. Many do not find the job they hoped to find in Russia and face poor working conditions and discrimination.

That discrimination has only increased since last Friday’s attack. Valentina Chuepik, a lawyer who represents migrants in Russia, received 2,500 reports of aggression against Central Asian migrants in the two days after the attack. The Tajik embassy in Moscow has urged Tajiks to avoid crowded places.