The Caucasus became radicalized after Czarist Russia conquered the previously independent Muslim peoples in the 19th century and forcibly incorporated them into the Russian Empire. The Soviet government subsequently repressed all genuine forms of religious expression in caucuses, creating an ideological void that Islamists exploited following the Soviet Union's collapse. The collapse of communism left an ideological vacuum in the Northern Caucasus, while the end of censorship and Soviet border controls gave the region’s Muslims greater connections with the larger Islamic world, including increased ties between Russian-based and foreign terrorist groups. Economic problems throughout the North Caucasus, including high unemployment, widening income gaps and deteriorating public education and lack of knowledge about Wahhabism further contributed to widespread popular alienation.
These conditions created a receptive environment for Islamist militancy in the North Caucasus. The officially distorted version of Islam in the Russian Federation found itself in a vicious struggle with more radical interpretations, often supported by foreign extremists seeking to exploit the collapse of Soviet border controls to propagate their doctrine among Russian Muslims. Republic of Azerbaijan as a part of caucuses and a neighbor of Russia and radical Islamism of Dagestan and Chechnya in Russian, is known for the flourishing ethno-religious radicalism. This Article provides an overview and analysis of the rise of extremism; the history and role of radicalism insecurity of caucuses; the genesis of violent and instability in this region, including the growing terrorist threat from the extremist in Russia and Azerbaijan and Muslim parts of Russia, as well the vulnerability of these societies to cooperate with terrorists.