Russia reveals significant increase in terrorist, extremist crimes
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Terrorist crimes in Russia are classified as planning terrorist attacks, public calls and justification of terrorism, and hostage-taking, while extremist crimes are considered political, ideological, racial, national, or religious hatred, or hostility towards any social group.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a meeting with Federal Security Service Director Alexander Bortnikov, on June 16, 2020. (Kremlin.ru)
Russia's terrorist and extremist crime rates have significantly increased in the first half of this year, the Interior Ministry reported, releasing recent data.
1,651 terrorism-related crimes were recorded in the country in the six months of 2024, marking a nearly 40 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023, the recently published document revealed.
The ministry noted that from January to June 2006 to 2023, the number of terrorism crimes had never exceeded 1,400. The previous record high was registered in the first half of 2022 with 1,332 terrorism-linked crimes.
12% increase compared to previous year
Crimes linked to extremist activities have also reached a record peak since 819 crimes were reported between January and June, indicating a nearly 12 percent increase compared to the previous year. Essentially, the number of extremist-linked crimes has not exceeded 800 since 2018.
The Russian Interior Ministry classifies terrorist crimes as planning terrorist attacks, public calls for terrorism, justifying terrorism, and hostage-taking, while extremist crimes are considered political, ideological, racial, national, or religious hatred, or hostility towards any social group.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) regularly releases information concerning failed terror plans, often characterizing the suspects as people linked to Islamist terrorist organizations or Ukrainian nationalists and collaborators.
Aleksandr Bortnikov, the FSB's director, revealed in June that the agency had prevented 134 terrorist and sabotage acts solely in central Russia since the outbreak of Moscow's war with Kiev, which began in February 2022. Additionally, the intelligence officer highlighted the country's security agencies have also dismantled the operations of 32 international terrorist cells within Russia.
Terrorist attack in Moscow Crocus City Hall leaves dozens dead
A terrorist shooting took place on the evening of March 22 at the Crocus City Hall concert venue in Krasnogorsk, located just outside Moscow, followed by a large-scale fire. An observer from Sputnik who was present during the incident recounted that a minimum of three individuals wearing camouflage attire forcibly entered the music hall, shooting at people from close range and hurling incendiary devices.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced the detention of more than a dozen individuals in connection with the attack, including four directly implicated in the incident, accusing Ukraine's special service of being behind the attack.
In contrast to the FSB's allegations that Ukraine was behind the massacre through Islamist proxies, the Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K) terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the attack.
