Russian Perspectives on Terrorism by Dr Mark A Smith (2004).pdf

Conflict Studies Research Centre

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Russian Perspectives On Terrorism

Dr Mark A Smith

Contents

The 1998 Law on Terrorism

Chechnya - Its Foreign Policy Significance

Recent Structural Realignments

Problems with the Legal Base & Functional Demarcation

The War on Terrorism: International Aspects

Conclusions

Appendices

1 - Russian Law on Fighting Terrorism 1998

The UK Definition of Terrorism

The US Definition of Terrorism

2 - Terrorist Group Listing

Russian Perspectives on Terrorism

Conflict Studies Research Centre

ISBN 1-904423-57-4

January 2004

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Dr Mark A Smith

Russian Perspectives on Terrorism

The Russian leadership is of the view that the threat of terrorism is growing in

Russian society, and fighting terrorism within the Russian Federation has become a

much higher priority. In 1997, the then director of the Federal Security Service,

Nikolay Kovalev, stated that Russia faced three main types of terrorism: social,

which aims at political and economic changes; nationalist and ethno-separatist;

and religious. 1 However, in practice, the Russian leadership’s struggle against

terrorism within the Russian Federation has concentrated on Chechen terrorism,

which it sees as a mixture of all three types. The actions have not been exclusively

concentrated on Chechnya and other parts of southern Russia, but this region has

understandably been the main focus.

Terrorism as a crime was first introduced into the Russian Federation Criminal

Code in 1994. In that year in Russia, 18 cases of terrorism were registered. This

increased to 327 in 2001, and to 402 in 2002. 2 In November 2002, Vladimir Putin

described the struggle against terrorism as a struggle for the preservation of

Russian statehood. Terrorism in the Russian Federation has become more visible

since 2002, most notably with the Nord-Ost theatre siege in Moscow in October that

year, the suicide bombings at a rock concert on Moscow’s outskirts in Tushino in

June 2003 and near the Duma building in Moscow in December 2003. In addition

suicide bombers destroyed a train in Stavropol kray in December 2003 and the

main military hospital in Mozdok in Chechnya in August 2003.

The 1998 Law on Terrorism

Whilst it is accurate to regard the autumn of 1999 as the time when Moscow began

to emphasise strongly the threat posed by terrorism both to international security

in general, and to Russia’s national security (this was the start of the major

'counter-terrorist' operation in Chechnya), the Russian state had begun to make

moves to enhance its capabilities to fight terrorism even before then. In July 1998,

Russia’s first law on fighting terrorism came into force. 3 Article Three provided a

legal definition of terrorism, and outlined the main forms of terrorist activity; these

are reproduced in Appendix 1 of this paper. The law also outlined the main

methods by which the state could fight against terrorism.

The government was logically defined as the main agency to protect the individual,

society and the state against terrorism. The main government bodies participating

in this struggle were listed as: the Federal Security Service (FSB); the Interior

Ministry (MVD); the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR); The Federal Guard Service;

the Ministry of Defence; and the Federal Border Service.

The law went on to outline the legal basis for conducting specific counter-terrorist

operations, stating in Article Ten that the government would in such cases set up

an operational headquarters, headed either by a representative of the FSB or MVD,

depending on which organisation was best suited to head that specific operation.

Article Six of the 1998 law stated that a Federal Anti-terrorist Commission would be

set up to coordinate the government’s work. The commission’s task was to work

out the fundamentals of state policy in this area, and implement the gathering and

analysis of information pertaining to terrorist organisations and activities on the

territory of the Russian Federation. The commission was further tasked to

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Perspectives on Terrorism

coordinate the actions of all federal bodies of executive power engaging in the fight

against terrorism. It would also participate in the preparation of international

treaties negotiated by the Russian Federation in the field of countering terrorism,

and work out suggestions for improving anti-terrorist legislation.

In November 1998, the federal government issued a resolution ( postanovleniye )

outlining the formation of the Federal Anti-Terrorist Commission. The Commission

replaced the inter-departmental anti-terrorist commission which was set up in May

1997. The new Commission was to rely on the FSB for the gathering and analysis

of information. The new Commission held its first meeting in February 1999. It

was at that time headed by first deputy prime minister Vadim Gustov. In June

1999, the then prime minister Sergey Stepashin took over as head of the

commission. Since then, this body has always been headed by the prime minister,

with the head of the FSB and the interior minister as deputy chairmen.

In August 1999, President Yel’tsin issued a decree reorganising the FSB. 4 A single

department for protecting the constitutional structure and combating terrorism was

formed from the department for combating terrorism and the department of

constitutional security. In December 1999 the Duma voted to amend the law on

the FSB, enhancing its powers to fight terrorism. In the summer of 1999, the FSB

and MVD had launched Operation Whirlwind, an anti-terrorist operation

throughout the Russian Federation. This operation has been continuing ever since

then.

Chechnya - Its Foreign Policy Significance

The Russian military operation in Chechnya that began in autumn 1999 was

officially described by the Russian leadership as a counter-terrorist operation. The

operation was launched in response to the incursion of Chechen fighters into

Dagestan and the apartment bombings that summer. The federal leadership

increasingly justified the military operation in Chechnya as part of the struggle

against “international terrorism.” In December 1999, President Yel’tsin depicted

Russian military action in Chechnya in these terms.

Our country is waging a difficult battle against international terrorism,

which has blatantly thrown down the gauntlet before us. This is a fight for

the life of the people of Russia, many of whom we lost in Moscow and

Dagestan, in Volgodonsk and Buynaksk. This is a fight for the sovereignty

and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation. It is also part of the

international community’s effort against international terrorism. I am sure

that those in the West who for some reason have still not understood this

will be convinced that we are in the right. International terrorism has no

borders. It now has the whole world in its sights. 5

In the same month, foreign minister Igor Ivanov echoed Yel’tsin’s sentiments,

stating that Chechnya was the front line against international terrorism. Vladimir

Putin took the same line when he became president in 2000, commenting in an

interview in Paris Match in July 2000 that:

Today we are the witnesses of the creation of an extremist international in

the so-called arc of instability beginning in the Philippines and ending in

Kosovo. This is in the first instant very dangerous for Europe, as it has a

large Moslem population. People who adhere to Islam as a religion to

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Dr Mark A Smith

achieve provocative and terrorist goals compromise Islam. Islam is a

religion of peaceable and orderly people. What does the problem consist

of? You indeed know that one of the extremist organisations, which is

headed by the notorious terrorist no.1 in the world Osman bin Laden, is the

International Islamic Front, which, in my opinion, puts as its task the

creation of an Islamic khaliphate, a United States of Islam, in which should

enter a number of Islamic states, and some Central Asian states and part

of the contemporary territory of the Russian Federation. Such are their

fascist plans. I call them fascist, as they call for the creation of a united

front against the Jews and “crusaders” as they call us. This is indeed a

terrorist international. And in this sense Russia stands at the forefront of

the struggle against this international terrorism. And Europe should get on

its knees and show a large amount of gratitude for the fact that we

struggle against it, so far, unfortunately, on our own. 6

In January 2000, foreign minister Igor Ivanov spoke at the Council of Europe

Parliamentary Assembly in Strasbourg, and defended the military operation in

Chechnya on the grounds that “Russia is essentially protecting the borders of all

Europe from a barbaric invasion of international terrorism”. 7

In 2000, three important documents were released by the Putin leadership on

Russian foreign and security policy. These were: the National Security Concept

(January 2000); the Military Doctrine (April 2000); the Foreign Policy Concept (June

2000). 8 All three documents emphasised that Moscow saw international terrorism

as a major threat. The Foreign Policy Concept saw “the struggle against

international terrorism as a most important task, as terrorism could destabilise not

just entire countries, but entire regions”. The Military Doctrine saw terrorism as

one of the main external and internal threats to the security of the Russian

Federation. The National Security Concept stated that “the most important

constituent national interests of Russia are the defence of the individual, society

and the state from terrorism, including international terrorism”. It also stated that

“terrorism is a serious threat to the national security of the Russian Federation.

International terrorism has unleashed an open campaign to destabilise the

situation in Russia.”

In November 2000, the then defence minister, Marshal Igor Sergeyev, stated that

the main threats to Russia’s security were “religious extremism, separatism and

international terrorism.” 9 At a round table discussion of the Diplomatic Academy of

the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in December 2000, First Deputy Foreign

Minister Vyacheslav Trubnikov warned that on

the threshold of the third millennium terrorism has become one of the most

dangerous global challenges. Not a single state can afford to ignore this

problem. Russia gives high priority to international cooperation in the

struggle with this evil. We can't seriously hope to solve it with our own

resources only, in conditions when the "terrorist international" has become

a real threat to the normal development of international relations and to the

security of countries and regions. Our stand, repeatedly set out in the

speeches and statements of the leaders of the country, is that there is the

need for coordinated actions of the entire world community at global,

regional and national levels. 10

He expressed similar sentiments at a conference in St Petersburg in April 2001,

which called for improving the international-legal framework for countering

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