Disrupting Escalation Of Terror In Russia To Prevent - Belfer Center ...

Overall, despite some targeted operations, the law enforcement’s response to the
escalation of terrorist attacks and conventional guerilla operations has been excessive and
indiscriminate. There should be no doubt that the federal authorities are aware of the scale of
abuses suffered by residents of the North Caucasus at the hands of local authorities and law
enforcement officials, especially in regions such as Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia. The
Kremlin prefers to turn a blind eye to these abuses, however, in a tacit trade-off where Moscow
provides firepower and cash, and local authorities demonstrate loyalty and brutally suppress
signs of separatism. This arrangement is undoubtedly failing. The dynamics of insurgency in
these three regions and several neighboring areas in Russia’s North Caucasus demonstrate
clearly that they are on the brink of becoming “failed republics.” Local leaders are as abusive
and corrupt as in the 1990s, but they are also becoming increasingly impotent, unable to curb the
escalation of insurgency and terrorism.
Paradoxically, federal and local authorities, while excessively active and creative in
broadening the powers of the repressive apparatus to react and, to a far lesser extent, to interdict
terrorist groups, have done relatively little to improve the deterrence of terrorism, especially
through economic and financial tools. Although companies and organizations whose associates
are found guilty or charged with terrorism can expect investigations into their finances, Russian
law prohibits the indiscriminate confiscation of property of convicted terrorists, which could be a
much more effective tool for discouraging potential sponsors or accomplices than fines or
liquidation of their companies. In fact, the collateral damage inflicted on liberties and freedoms
in this “war on terror” has already raised questions about the potential for further damage.
80 The introduction and impact of the law designating Chechnya a zone of counterterrorist operations is described in
the Chechnya case study. The impact of a local law on countering Wahabbism and political extremism, passed by
the Dagestani parliament in 1999, is described in the Dagestan case study.
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