The chief of Anti-Terrorism Centre of Commonwealth of Independent States (ATC-CIS), Andrey Novikov, said yesterday that approximately 2,000 Russians have joined the Islamic State (ISIS).
In an interview with Interfax news agency, Novikov said that according to the intelligence services, there are about 2,000 Russian citizens fighting amongst ISIS militants; however experts put the number at nearly 5,000.
Experts warn that the return of these fighters will increase the seriousness of the situation in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which includes most of the former Soviet republics, at a time when several central Asian countries are facing the increasing danger of fundamentalism.
In the beginning of June, the director of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Alexander Bortnikov, estimated that the number of Russian citizens fighting in Iraq was about 1,700. He expressed concern about ISIS’s growing influence in Russia and called for increased cooperation with Washington and the West in this regard.
In recent weeks a number of young Russians have left their country and headed for Syria. The Moscow State University also reported the loss of a female student who left for Turkey where it is believed she will try to enter Syria.
A spokeswoman for the university told the international Russian news agency RIA Novosti that Maryem Asamailov was studying business management and marketing, noting that she boarded the plane to Turkey to join another female student from the university.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Vladimir Putin, expressed concern at the wave of departures of Russian students, saying that this is a “dangerous phenomenon”.
In early June, the Turkish authorities arrested 14 Russians, including a 19-year-old student, and four Azerbaijanis in Kilis as they were trying to enter Syria.
In light of the increased interest, in late May, ISIS launched a Russian version of its propaganda magazine Istok.