Russia is going to fight religious extremism, a conflict between Bastrykin and Kadyrov is brewing - ISW

In the aggressor country of Russia, two prominent officials have spearheaded different ways to combat religious extremism amid rising ethnic and religious tensions. We are talking about the head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Alexander Bastrykin and the leader of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov, who responded to the June 23 terrorist attacks in Dagestan.

This was reported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). They expect that dictator Putin will soon try to resolve the situation, although Russian ultranationalists have expressed doubts about the Kremlin's ability to prevent new terrorist attacks.

It is noted that Bastrykin, commenting on the events in Dagestan, said that Islamic terrorists "managed to bring their flag of terror" to Russia, so the State Duma should respond to the threat of their existence to the Russian Federation.

This accusation provoked a negative reaction from Kadyrov, who called on Bastrykin and other Russian officials to choose their words carefully and "avoid characterizing all Muslims as terrorists." He warned that such statements "threaten the unity and stability" of the socio-political situation in Russia.

"Russian bloggers and lower-level officials have previously participated in similar debates, and it is noteworthy that Kadyrov was willing to openly criticize another high-ranking Kremlin official on this issue," ISW emphasized.

They recalled that Bastrykin had previously positioned himself as a prominent figure in Russia's ultranationalist movement and today he is at odds with Kadyrov, who often speaks as a representative of the Muslim minority in Russia.

After the March 22 terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall, Russian dictator Putin has already tried to suppress concerns in the media about the threat posed by migrants and Muslim communities. At the same time, he called for unspecified changes in migration policy and condemned Islamophobia and xenophobia.

"Putin may speak his mind in the Bastrykin-Kadyrov debate in the coming days in the hope of also calming concerns among Russians about a possible future conflict between Bastrykin and Kadyrov," ISW believes.

At the same time, the analysts noted that after the June 23 terrorist attacks in the Republic of Dagestan, Russian ultranationalists continue to express doubts about the authorities' ability to prevent such an attack. They believe that the Kremlin is generally incapable of eliminating ethnic and religious tensions within the aggressor country and expect new terrorist attacks.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, earlier experts pointed out that Putin's regime is trying to maintain the appearance of stability in Russia in response to the terrorist attacks in Dagestan. In particular, after the terrorist attack on June 23, dictator Putin did not even make a special address to Russians.

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