Anastasia Gorbacheva08:48, 03/25/24

The leader of Chechnya did not like the statements of some “deputies” of the State Duma of the Russian Federation.

In the Russian Federation, after the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall, proposals began to be made to pursue a tougher anti-migrant policy. The leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, is concerned about the statements of “Russian ultranationalists.”

Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War drew attention to the words of the illegitimate Russian State Duma deputy from the temporarily occupied Crimea, Mikhail Sheremet, who on March 24 proposed limiting the entry of migrants into Russia during the war against Ukraine and said that Western intelligence services are targeting migrants to carry out terrorist attacks in Russia and destabilize the situation in the country. He also said that Russia has no way to determine which of the migrants has “good intentions”, since all of Russia’s efforts and resources are aimed at war.

At the same time, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vladislav Davankov also proposed introducing a number of tougher measures against migrants, including the introduction of a “zero tolerance” policy for migrants who have committed offenses of any level in the first year of their stay in Russia, strengthening “digital control” over migrants and the development a “migrant replacement” program, under which Russia will try to expand industrial automation to reduce dependence on migrant workers.

Russia’s military build-up efforts and anti-migrant policies, an increasingly visible ultranationalist movement espousing xenophobic rhetoric, and an increasingly ultranationalist Kremlin emphasizing the importance of Russian Orthodoxy in public life are likely to further alienate migrant communities and create hostility that Salafi-jihadist groups may used for recruitment.

In turn, Kadyrov expressed concern about the reaction of Russian ultranationalists to the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall. He said the scale of the attack was “much larger and deeper” than the attack itself because Russia’s enemies are trying to undermine it by promoting nationalism. Kadyrov said that Russia has always been a multinational and multi-religious country, but “false patriots” are trying to play on people’s emotions and “call for fascist methods.”

In addition, he threatened to have a “short conversation” with the instigators of ethnic conflicts. Kadyrov is likely trying to appeal to Russian ultranationalists, who used the attack on Crocus City Hall to express hostility towards non-ethnic Russian minorities and migrants within Russia.

It’s worth noting that Kadyrov has previously found himself at the center of high-profile ethnic and religious scandals, which has likely disrupted his attempts to balance preserving Chechnya’s Islamic values ​​with supporting an increasingly ultra-nationalist Kremlin.

(C)UNIAN 2024