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Article: Russia, Islam, and the war on terrorism: an uneasy future.
- Article from:
- Demokratizatsiya
- Article date:
- September 22, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Heldref Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The terrorist attacks on the United States have forced many countries to confront their own Islamic threats. Russia is one country that faces an uncertain future, surrounded by tough neighbors in an unstable geopolitical environment. As the birthrate of ethnic Russians plummets, the Muslim population is growing, (1) and radical Islamic forces are expanding into Russia proper, as well as in its sphere of influence in the former Soviet Central Asia. The challenge for the Russian leadership in the years to come is to develop adequate diplomatic, military, and security tools to halt the rise of the Islamist threat to Russia and its allies. Russia judges that it cannot stem ...