THE ECONOMIST: Muslim fundamentalism is on the rise in the north Caucasus. To stop it, Russian policy must changeTHE world is fearful of Islam’s rising influence in Afghanistan, Pakistan and across the newly restive Arab world. But it has barely noticed what is happening in Russia’s troubled north Caucasus. After two decades of political and military failure in this violent part of the world, the government in Moscow is losing its legitimacy there, and fundamentalist Islam, which had no purchase in Soviet days, has taken hold.
The north Caucasus may take up only a small space on the map, but it looms large for Russia. The region has often decisively influenced the course of Russia’s own development. Boris Yeltsin’s decision to send in troops to stop Chechnya’s march towards independence helped to weaken Russia’s fledgling democracy in the mid-1990s. Vladimir Putin’s vow to rub out Chechen rebels “in the shithouse” helped to propel him into the presidency. Eleven years on, the north Caucasus is still one of Russia’s biggest headaches. Terrorist attacks, like the bombing at Domodedovo airport in January, have become almost commonplace. In its largely unreported fighting in the north Caucasus, Russia is suffering as many losses every year as Britain has lost in ten years in Afghanistan. » | Leaders | Thursday, April 07, 2011
