Russia needs harsh measures to combat extremism, expert says

The expansion of extremism in Russia is caused by the social and economic situation, which Islamists promise to improve, member of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Boris Dolgov told Vestnik Kavkaza.

"It's well-known that fundamentalist and jihadist ideology is spreading in Russia," he said. "This process is caused mainly by the social and economic situation, the high unemployment rate among youngsters and mass corruption."

"The main aim of the fundamentalist movement is to establish an Islamic state that would settle this matter."

According to the expert, the authorities are often reluctant to combat these tendencies. 'I should say that nowadays some measures are being taken, before that the authorities were absolutely inactive," he said.