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complicated and many-sided trends: reciprocal influence of Russian and Tatarian cultures, of Christian and Islamic values create a rather advantageous background for tolerance, multi-culture, opened space for influence of the West and of the East. But at the same time, since the earliest times the dilemma of coexistence of many cultures comes forward: multi-cultural development means provision of chances for development of conservative, clerical and ethnic-nationalist trends, which treat with reticence and animosity all unusual and new phenomena.
"Sotsialno-kulturnyportretRespubliki Tatarstan",
Kazan, 2009, p. 94-118.
Yu. Dorokhov,
political scientist (the city of Makhachkala)
THE ISLAMIC EXTREMISM IN THE NORTH CAUCASUS
(Dagestan as an example)
After disintegration of the USSR the role of ethnic and religious factors in the post-Soviet space rapidly had risen and for the further fifteen years was rising steadily, demonstrating the increasing connection with politics. The most complicated situation emerged in the North Caucasus, where the complex of inter-confessional and inter-ethnic contradictions was shaped, consolidated by a number of significant external factors, and gave rise to some acute and bloody conflicts.
The problem of Islamic fundamentalism in the North Caucasus has been reviewed by the author as a problem of the entire country, citing Dagestan as an example. The negative impact of the unstable situation in Dagestan on other regions of Russia as well as the influence of unstable public-political situation in the Caucasian-Caspian region
and the artificially aggravated situation in Dagestan on the national security of Russia as a whole are subjects to discussion. Extremism and terrorism as the phenomena should not be precisely connected with Islam and identified with religion in general. The studies of problems in North Ireland and some Spanish provinces, professing Catholicism since old times, show that terrorist organizations, pursuing certain political aims, exist also in the Christian world. Therefore the author discusses such political-religious phenomenon as terrorism under the cover of Islam.
The exact number of Muslims in Dagestan is unknown, but they undoubtedly account for not less than 90% of the population. According to the All-Russian population census in 2002, representatives of many nationalities spoke different languages. The Islamic extremists (terrorists) are considered in Dagestan to be the adepts of religious-political trend in Islam known as wahhabies. The terrorist acts of wahhabies are determined as their struggle for political power and influence in the region. The political-religious basis of the adepts of radical Islamic fundamentalism is the idea of separation of Dagestan from Russia and creation on the territory of the republic of the independent Islamic state with shariat governance.
The main ideologists of the Chechen bandits' underground -Mobladi Udugov, Dokku Umarov and Ahmed Zakayev (who obtained diplomatic refuge in Great Britain) have not been able to agree on the political system in independent Ichkeria. The main contradictions are as follows: should "new Chechnya" be an Islamic Republic with shariat form of governance headed by amir and a council of imams or an Islamic constitutional republic with the parliament and the president. They discuss it abroad, in countries of Western Europe. It is significant that they were leaders of the National Military Front and committed criminal crimes in the course of the both "Chechen" campaigns,
including kidnapping, slave trade, ordered assassinations. All of them are subject to international tracing, on the initiative of the RF.
After disintegration of the USSR the situation in Dagestan was complicated enormously. The economic slump, unemployment and the starting struggle among armed elite groups for redistribution of the state property and power conditioned a high level of the threat of inter-ethnic and further inter-religion conflicts. The situation was further aggravated by the lift of long-term prohibition of religion for the Soviet years. The rapid growth of the number of mosques and Islamic education institutions started in Dagestan.
Since the activities of extremist organizations intensified after disintegration of the USSR, the events in the North Caucasus for the last 15 years were directly connected with the urge of hostile foreign states towards the large-scale military actions to induce Russia to participate in a new civil war. Any war, particularly in the period of the world economic crisis, undermines already weak and unstable economy of the country, taking part in military actions, while it is much easier to exert external policy's pressure on the country with weakened economy.
Since the beginning of the 1990s, the ideology of wahhabism has widely spread on the territory of Dagestan, where for the last ten years it passed from temperance to extreme displays, which represented a direct threat to the national security and territorial integrity of Russia. Adepts of wahhabism disseminated literature of radical type, started to publish newspapers with extremist and anti-constitutional content up to 1999, when these publications were forbidden by court decision.
These publications propagate overthrow of the constitutional order, instigate inter-national and inter-religious animosity. The numerous organizations and foundations, guided often under the rigid control by the American Administration, gave their support to extremist
activities in Dagestan. Various financial organizations acted legally as sponsors of these activities. Following prohibition in 1999 at the federal level of activities of some foreign organizations in Russia, the process of financing subversive activities and information war goes on up till present illegally with the assistance of mediation's emissaries of terrorist organizations, such as "Al-Qaida", "Hizb-ut-Tahrir" and others.
The officials of law enforcement bodies in the course of special actions regularly liquidate the so-called financiers of illegal armed formations, carrying out their activities on the territory of the whole North Caucasus, particularly on the territory of Dagestan. As a rule, they are foreign citizens, primarily of Arabic countries, members of international terrorist organizations and different Islamic foundations. Speaking about Islamic extremism in Russia one can not avoid the theme of international terrorism. In the course of special operations, the information is collected on participation in the military bands of foreign citizens of the following countries: Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and some African countries. As a rule, the citizens of these countries play the leading role in organization of activities of military underground, create training camps, arrange military training, give financial support to activities of bandits' groups and provide the groups of terrorists with the support of interested foreign organizations. Many foundations and Islamic organizations are situated in Arabic countries and on the territory of the USA and the countries of Western Europe, which pursue in the North Caucasus and the Caspian Basin the policy to achieve their geopolitical aims. Islamic radicalism and further Islamic extremism appeared in Dagestan as a result of internal reasons and the events in neighboring Chechnya, some experts make the conclusion. As the author thinks, wahhabism in Dagestan emerged and developed due to foreign intrusion, while all
other circumstances contributed to intensification of extremist activities.
The Caucasian-Caspian region as a key region for ensuring security of the southern borders of Russia simultaneously is one of the unstable regions of the world. A number of problems and contradiction, remaining unsolved as far back from times of disintegration of the USSR, justify this conclusion. Some of them are as follows: the struggle against illegal armed formations in Russia on the territory of the North Caucasus; the Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-Ossetian conflicts; the tense relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, caused by the claims for control over Nagorny Kharabah; by the situation across the other coast of the Caspian Sea - in Tajikistan, where its borders are protected by Russian border guards, by the problem of Afghanistan; in the south of the Caspian Sea - by Iran with its nuclear program. The interests of Russia and NATO are crossed in each case.
If the USA, according to program "Caspian Guard", gets the chance of naval presence in Azerbaijan, like location of military bases in Georgia, which were used by fighters to penetrate in Chechnya and Dagestan through its territory, there appears a real threat of a new cold war Russia-NATO. The relations between Russia and European countries will deteriorate due to a probable threat of the loss of control over transit of Turkmenian gas to Europe at the ground of the Caspian Sea. It was not by chance that Russia came forward with the initiative to create an emergency component of the navy in the Caspian Sea (Casfor). Iran and Turkmenistan supported the Russian proposal, while Kazakhstan and Azerbijan responded to this initiative with great reticence.
For the periods of the first and the second Chechen campaigns the leaders of the illegal military formations (NVF) considered as their main aim the exit to the coast of the Caspian Sea. It was not by chance
that S. Raduyev, Sh. Basayev and Hattab (from Jordan) chose as an object of their assault exactly Dagestan and not other republics of the North Caucasus. The veiled attempts to extend borders of the Chechen Republic first to the Khasavyurt district of Dagestan and further by joining to Chechnya of the Kizlyar district with the exit to the coast of the Caspian Sea are being made up till present.
Since the middle of the XX century the world community has waged active struggle for great running short natural resources and unsettled territories of Russia. The secret services of some countries regard the North Caucasus, particularly Dagestan (the significant strategic region on the coast of the Caspian Sea), as a springboard for development and consolidation of influence and dominance in the region with further separation of the North Caucasus from Russia. The loss by Russia of leading positions in the Caucasus automatically results in weakening of Russian influence on the Caspian states: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran. This result, in its turn, makes much easier for the USA and NATO countries get access to the energy resources of the Caspian Basin. The USA is interested in the sources of energy in the Caspian Basin primarily by expressing its wish to ensure its own energy security, as it was mentioned by the Congress of the USA (ensuring energy security is one of the main priorities of foreign policy). As J. Baker noted, for the XXI century the Caspian oil will be as important for the industrialized world as today is important for the world - the oil of the Persian Gulf. The biggest western oil companies (British Petroleum, Exxon Mobile and others), carrying out their activities under the aegis and in the interests of the USA, are being involved in development of oil fields in the Caspian Basin. Thus, the interests of the USA are oriented to the long-term diversification of oil and gas sources in the fields and deposits in the Caspian Sea in order to lessen energy dependence on the countries of the Persian Gulf, and the
more so, as the USA does not want to resume development of its reserves, which were put in dead storage, and to extract more oil in the Gulf of Mexico.
However, the reserves of the Caspian hydrocarbons are varied from huge amounts to a negligent size, according to different estimates. Therefore the wish of the USA and western states to keep the Caspian Basin under control most likely is reduced to the control over Russia. The political instability in the region renders assistance to the USA to govern this region and, consequently, to stir up the situation, which is also one of the key long-term aims of the USA. The destabilization of political and social situation in Dagestan is the task of great priority for American Administration, since Russia plays the key role in the Caucasian-Caspian region and may to a large extent have impact on the situation and political decisions in the states of the Caspian Basin.
The number of foreign citizens, participating in activities of bandits' groups on the territory of the republic, gradually reduce the amount of their financial support to these bandits groups consequently, according to secret services. As a result of the intelligent service's actions, the coordinators of subversive activities in Dagestan, such as Abu Omar, Abu Khafs, Khattab and others, were liquidated. Each "special operation" is an evidence of the hard work of officials of the law enforcement bodies for the sake of ensuring national security, since each measure taken for this aim, means prevention of another terrorist act and saving of people's lives. Thus, this is the result of a thorough work of law enforcement bodies to arrange counteractions in order to stop terrorist activities, and therefore the bandits themselves have to finance their criminal activities.
At present, the situation in Dagestan is aggravated to the braking point. There are certain objective factors, which emerged as a result of subversive anti-constitutional activities of extremist groups. In
Khasavyurt and Makhachkala up to recent time a sniper killed servicemen, officials of the procurator's office, of law enforcement bodies, secret services and other organizations, who carried uniforms and special outer-clothes. Actually daily, the officials of state establishments and members of their families receive letters with demands to retire and the threats of physical liquidation (which usually are realized). They accompany their threats with acts of threatening, such as shooting in direction of apartments, setting fire or exploding personal vehicles.
Members of illegal bandits' formations warned officials "not carry uniforms" and recommended women "to use hijab". The extremists disseminate leaflets with threats and assignments for the population. In mountainous villages and cities in flat country militiamen are assassinated, the official vehicles are exploded, while innocent citizens become victims. The cruelty and cynicism of terrorist acts horrify the people.
Some categories of civil persons were also divided by radical reasons. For instance, the sport's community of the republic is divided to "jamaat" and "tarikat". In Arabic, "jamaat" is a community, a brotherhood (of adepts of wahhabism, when people address to each other like "brother" and "sister"); "tarikat" - means the way, it means the shariat way of achieving nearness of a slave to the Mighty by means of eradication from his heart bad, mean thoughts and cessation of bad deeds. The conflicts between adepts of traditional trend of Islam and supporters of radical wahhaby trend occur regularly in various settlements of the republic.
As a result of special measures, taken for liquidation of members of illegal military groups, the officials of MVD, FSB, procurator offices, of military forces located on the territory of the republic, find the printed lists of names of these officials with their addresses and
plates of their cars. Since bandits have specific data on state officials and since they put ultimatums to them, they want to get the proof or disproof of the officials of these organs concerning their criminal acts. By means of blackmail or graft, the bandits make officials of state organs give them various information. As became known, some officials of MVD were recruited by extremists exactly on the ideological basis.
With due account of the described situation in the republic, it is possible to present a model of probable situation: 1) installation of emergency (KTO) regime in Dagestan; 2) some years of war, waged by insurgents, and further special measures with all consequences (arrests, control of territory, searches); 3) installation of the rigid regime of governance (probably, the direct presidential governance for a short period of time); 4) hard time and the process of restoration of peaceful life, of infrastructure, which demands big financial expenses.
The similar situation existed in neighboring Chechnya. The fighters, waging war against federal forces, recruited volunteers from the population. Those, who refused to join the bandits' formations, were usually killed. The relatives of the killed people became deadly enemies of these killers, the institution of blood feud still exists in the Caucasus, including Dagestan. Dagestan is a multi-national republic, therefore vendetta will be accompanied by inter-national contradictions.
The emergence of new political, inter-ethnic and territorial conflicts in Dagestan contributed to aggravation of the situation in the whole North Caucasus. This circumstance actually conditions emergence of the need to find out new ways of settling these issues, including use of military forces. In its turn, the fact of military actions, given some unsolved foreign policy problems, results in a fast economic slump, reduction of the small amount of production, rise of inflation and loss of positions in the region. In the republic, the fire may
brake out instantly, and it will be very difficult to extinguish the fire for many dozens of years. The peoples of Dagestan have endured bitter experience of resettling refugees, but in case of war the residents of the republic may themselves become refugees.
"Kaspiysky region: politika, ekonomika, kultura", Astrakhan, 2009, N 4, p. 86-91.
B. Kitinov,
cand. of sciences (history) RELIGION IN GEOPOLITICS OF THE CASPIAN REGION STATES
At present a study of geopolitical factors influence on the stability of the states, on their development prognostication, on processes which can influence on their development in a varying degree becomes more urgent. In spite of ideological "background" prevalence a geographical factor became urgent in geopolitics of the different states of the world from 70-ss and it was caused by socio-economic reasons. A possibility to control ideological and spiritual environment of the other countries where religion is of importance became the most important indicator of the state influence in the region and in the world.
Geopolitics of the Caspian region is defined by a number of factors compared with its geo-strategic importance, oil and gas resources, possibilities of their delivery to consumers and also neighboring and nearness with China, Russia, Iran, the vast Caspian-Black Sea region and the Persian Gulf.
There emerges the idea in the European and the American science that religion can influence on the political life positively. Yu. Khabermas discusses in his book that a religious thinking is still of importance and even competes with a scientific thinking and how
