Publication

This report looks at how the changing nature of Islam in the post-Soviet space has contributed to the influx of foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq. More specifically, the authors discuss 1) the growing role of Salafism and militant Islam in post-Soviet states; 2) the origins of the foreign fighter phenomenon; 3) the operational presence and methods of post-Soviet militants in Syria and Iraq; 4) the influence of ‘war migration’ on former Soviet countries; 6) the threats posed by Middle Eastern jihadists to these nations; and 5) other Muslim-related challenges now being experienced by post-Soviet societies.