Consequences of the Presence of North Caucasus Salafi Groups in the Syrian Crisis on Russia's National Security

Aleghafur, Seyed Mohsen; Jafari, Maryam; Ghadbeigy, Zohreh

doi:10.22034/csiw.2026.736816

Consequences of the Presence of North Caucasus Salafi Groups in the Syrian Crisis on Russia's National Security

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Seyed Mohsen Aleghafur ¹

Maryam Jafari ²

Zohreh Ghadbeigy ³

¹ Department of Political Science, Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz, Iran

² Department of Regional Studies, Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran, Iran

³ Department of Regional Studies, Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran, Iran.

10.22034/csiw.2026.736816

Abstract

The North Caucasus region has faced increasing insecurity since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of Islamic movements. The developments of the Arab Spring and the Syrian crisis in 2011 intensified the activity of Salafi groups and the presence of North Caucasus militants in Syria, leading to the expansion of Salafi-Takfiri groups' activities in the region and beyond. Given the geopolitical importance of the North Caucasus, this research examines the consequences of the presence of these movements in the Syrian crisis on Russia's national security. The main question is: what impact does the presence of North Caucasus Salafi-Takfiri movements in the Syrian crisis have on Russia's national security? The research hypothesis is that this presence has a significant negative impact on Russia's national security through the increase in terrorist threats, the spread of extremism, and regional instability. The research findings indicate that the presence of North Caucasus Salafis in the Syrian crisis significantly threatens Russia's national security through the expansion of extremism and regional instability. This research addresses the topic using a descriptive-analytical method and library resources.

Keywords

Salafism

Syrian Crisis

North Caucasus

Chechnya

Russian National Security