Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s threat in the Russian Federation

Hayat Tahrir al Sham flag
The flag of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (Credits: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Author: Giuliano Bifolchi

The Russian Federation is not immune to jihadist propaganda and terrorist activities. Arrests in the last months of people connected to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham have demonstrated that this terrorist organisation has created or attempted to create a network in different Russian regions.

In May 2022, in the city of Khabarovsk, security officers of the regional FSB arrested five citizens from Central Asia accused of financially supporting the activities of the terrorist organisation Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Regional FSB reported that a 26-year-old citizen of Uzbekistan voluntarily provided financial assistance to members of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Four more of his compatriots knew about it, but they did not report it to law enforcement agencies for ideological reasons.[1]

Previously, in April 2022, Russia’s FSB arrested ten people linked to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in nine Russian regions: Bashkortostan, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Krasnodar, Astrakhan, Volgograd, Novosibirsk, Tula and Tyumen. The FSB reported that on the instructions of the organisation’s emissaries, the detainees created an extensive inter-regional network for collecting, accumulating and transferring funds to accounts and bank cards registered to third parties.[2]

The Russian Federation banned Hayat Tahrir al-Sham as a terrorist organisation which operates in Syria and aims to free Syria from Bashar al-Assad’s government. Since Moscow has military, economically and diplomatically supported Damascus in the fight against terrorist groups, the Russian Federation has become Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s target.

Since February 2022, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s jihadist propaganda has commented on the Ukraine conflict, labelling it as an opportunity and an ‘oxygen tank’ for the Syrian revolution. Ideologues and members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham have also invited Muslim believers to fight in Ukraine in support of the Kyiv government, engage militarily with the Russian Federation, and divert Kremlin’s military operations in Syria.[3]

Risk assessment

The Russian Federation is not immune to jihadist propaganda and terrorist activities. Arrests in the last months of people connected to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham have demonstrated that this terrorist organisation has created or attempted to create a network in different Russian regions.

Although terrorist propaganda has influenced mainly migrants from Central Asia and Muslim believers in the North Caucasus and the Volga-Urals region, the arrest of a terrorist cell linked to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in the city of Khabarovsk in the Far East of Russia demonstrated that jihadist propaganda might reach different parts of the Russian Federation.

Sources

[1] EastRussia (2022) ФСБ задержала граждан в Хабаровске. Link: https://www.eastrussia.ru/news/v-khabarovske-likvidirovan-kanal-finansirovaniya-mezhdunarodnoy-terroristicheskoy-organizatsii/

[2] SANA (2022) ФСБ России арестовала десять человек, связанных с Хайят Тахрир аш-Шам. Link: http://sananews.online/ru/?p=311173

[3] Silvia Boltuc, Giuliano Bifolchi, Daniele Garofalo (2022) Conflitto in Ucraina: rischio geopolitico, propaganda jihadista e minaccia per l’Europa, Enigma Edizioni.

Written by

  • Giuliano Bifolchi

    SpecialEurasia Co-Founder & Research Manager. He has vast experience in Intelligence analysis, geopolitics, security, conflict management, and ethnic minorities. He holds a PhD in Islamic history from the University of Rome Tor Vergata, a master’s degree in Peacebuilding Management and International Relations from Pontifical University San Bonaventura, and a master’s degree in History from the University of Rome Tor Vergata. As an Intelligence analyst and political risk advisor, he has organised working visits and official missions in the Middle East, North Africa, Latin America, and the post-Soviet space and has supported the decision-making process of private and public institutions writing reports and risk assessments. Previously, he founded and directed ASRIE Analytica. He has written several academic papers on geopolitics, conflicts, and jihadist propaganda. He is the author of the books Geopolitical del Caucaso russo. Gli interessi del Cremlino e degli attori stranieri nelle dinamiche locali nordcaucasiche (Sandro Teti Editore 2020) and Storia del Caucaso del Nord tra presenza russa, Islam e terrorismo (Anteo Edizioni 2022). He was also the co-author of the book Conflitto in Ucraina: rischio geopolitico, propaganda jihadista e minaccia per l’Europa (Enigma Edizioni). He speaks Italian, English, Russian, Spanish and Arabic.

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