The Influence of the Russia-Ukraine War on North Caucasian Separatist and Jihadist Movements

Abstract

In 2022, the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and the beginning of full-scale war gave new impetus to North Caucasian separatist and jihadist forces. This process contributed to the deepening of cooperation among a number of groups, the emergence of new political entities, and the formation of units fighting on the side of Ukraine. In some cases, the new alliances include forces with a jihadist past, who agree to employ not only religious but also national ideology in the struggle against Russia. This tendency may be assessed as an adaptation of part of the North Caucasian national movements to Islamism.

The present study is one of the first attempts to examine and analyze the influence of the ongoing war in Ukraine on Caucasian separatist and jihadist movements. The theoretical basis of the research relies on an interdisciplinary approach that combines elements of social constructivism and social movement theory. For data collection, semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with representatives of North Caucasian separatist movements. In addition, research was carried out on separatist and jihadist media resources in the online space using the method of digital ethnography.

The study analyzes the common goals of North Caucasian national-liberation movements, their political projects, the process of forming associated combat units, online activities, and the growing influence of Islamism on pro-independence groups. Separatist movements consider national independence and, in the long term, different models of a common Caucasian state. By contrast, for the terrorist organization Caucasus Emirate, the only acceptable model is a unified, independent Sharia-based North Caucasus, which is why it categorically rejects cooperation with democratic separatist forces. At the same time, the Caucasian branch of the Islamic State views the region solely as one province within the global caliphate.