Vladimir Putin, along with many others, has been in denial about who was behind the Moscow concert hall attack, despite the Islamic State’s claim of responsibility. As Robert Spencer writes:
The usual suspects of conspiracy paranoia, notably the CIA and Mossad, were accused on social media of being the real culprits. And Putin himself, in his initial statement on the attack, blamed the massacre on “international terrorism” but didn’t mention ISIS and suggested that Ukraine had something to do with it.
Putin has a pattern of demonstrating cluelessness about the jihad. He has befriended jihadist thugs and not recognized that infidels are regarded as inferior no matter who they are. A bit of history between Muslim Chechnya and Russia may illustrate what could be contributing to Putin’s delusion of control regarding jihadists: Russia and Muslim Chechnya have a history of war, and after it all, they now need each other. In 2020, Russia’s military established control over Chechnya, which is now subsidized by Moscow; Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has become close friends with Putin, despite the fact that at one time he was once virulently anti-Russian and advocated for Chechnya’s separation from Russia. Kadyrov was affiliated with the Chechen independence movement. His father, Akhmad Kadyrov, was the separatist-appointed mufti of Chechnya. Ramzan followed in his father’s footsteps until Putin appointed him First Deputy Prime Minister of the Chechen Republic in 2004, following the assassination of his father. He then began displaying a loyalty to Putin and Russia that has continued to this day; he has been Head of the Chechen Republic since 2007. In October 2022, Kadyrov called for a Russian “jihad” across all of Ukraine, while declaring the Ukraine war a “Big Jihad,” after he was granted the rank of general in Russia’s army. He said that the appointment was a “huge honor” for him. Eight months later, in June 2022, Russia signed a contract with a Chechen special forces group, the Akhmat paramilitary group, that has been “waging the Kremlin’s offensive near the town of Mariinka in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.”
It isn’t unreasonable to surmise that given the turbulent past between Russia and Chechnya, and the current deep loyalty that has developed between the two leaders, that Russia prefers to think that it has favor and preference among Islamic supremacists and is somehow immune to jihad attack. Russia is also friendly with Iran, which has been supplying Russia with drones in its war with Ukraine. Last June, Putin said that anyone found guilty of burning a Qur’an will serve sentence in Muslim regions of Russia, which is tantamount to saying that the penalty for burning the Qur’an will be death.
In the face of the news that Iran alerted Russia (and also the US) about a big security threat right before the Moscow concert hall attack, Putin faces the humiliation of knowing that he does not have control over the jihad, and that in fact, Russia is fair game in the war on infidels.
“Iran alerted Russia to security threat before Moscow attack,” by Parisa Hafezi, Reuters, April 1, 2023:
DUBAI, April 1 (Reuters) – Iran tipped off Russia about the possibility of a major “terrorist operation” on its soil ahead of the concert hall massacre near Moscow last month, three sources familiar with the matter said.In the deadliest attack inside Russia in 20 years, gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons at concertgoers on March 22 at the Crocus City Hall, killing at least 144 people in violence claimed by the Islamic State militant group.The United States had also warned Russia in advance of a likely militant Islamist attack but Moscow, deeply distrustful of Washington’s intentions, played down that intelligence.It is harder, however, for Russia to dismiss intelligence from diplomatic ally Iran on the attack, which has also raised questions over the effectiveness of Russian security services. Moscow and Tehran, both under Western sanctions, have deepened military and other cooperation during the two-year Ukraine war……
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