nvestigative Report Suggests Russian Security Services Pushing North Caucasus Militants to Flee to Middle East

Valery Dzutsev: Investigative Report Suggests Russian Security Services Pushing North Caucasus Militants to Flee to Middle East

Although involvement in Islamic State (IS) activities officially became a crime in Russia in February 2015, the Kremlin does not seem to have taken appropriate steps to stem the outflow of volunteer fighters to the Middle East—despite the powers of the Russian state to control the movement of its citizens. A recent investigative report by the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta states that beyond failing to create obstacles for Russian citizens seeking to go to Syria to fight, the Russian security services actually contribute to the outflow. Notably, several leaders of a militant group in a village in Dagestan reportedly reached an agreement with the Federal Security Service (FSB), which allowed them to receive foreign passports and secure safe passage to Turkey and then on to Syria.  While Russian state agencies are notorious for scouring the Internet for extremist materials, IS propaganda in Russian has largely remained openly accessible, and the state agencies have shown little interest in this fact.http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews[tt_news]=44245&tx_ttnews[backPid]=7#.VdC8qc6KI-9