All-Russian Scientific and Practical Conference ‘Terrorism and Extremism as a Threat to Russia's National Security’ was held at Tula State University on March 28th.

It was organised by the Department of Sociology and Political Science of the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tula Regional Branch of the Russian Association of Political Science, Tula Regional Branch of the Russian Society of Sociologists and the Tula Regional Branch of the Russian Society of Political Scientists. 

Vladislav Viktorovich Kotov, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, opened the plenary session of the conference.

Today everyone has gathered in the walls of Tula State University, he said, to discuss one of the most important and acute problems. Terrorism and extremism pose a serious threat not only to Russia, but also to the entire world community. As a multinational state, the Russian Federation preaches the principles of respect, unity and dialogue of cultures. The spread of ideologies of terrorism and extremism can only be prevented by consolidating the efforts of the authorities, law enforcement agencies and civil society. And the current conference, emphasised Vladislav Viktorovich, is just one of the elements of preventive work in this direction. The exchange of opinions and experience, new ideas will contribute to solving the problem and help make our world safer.

Such a conference, said Irina Alexandrovna Batanina, Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Sociology and Political Science, is held annually at the university. At its core, terrorism and extremism are violent ideologies that aim to change the foundations of the constitutional order and political regime of the country. That is why it is very important to carry out preventive work among different layers of the population, first of all, among young people, as their representatives, as a rule, are characterised by maximalism of judgement, immaturity of emotional and volitional spheres and dependence on other people's opinions. Irina Alexandrovna warned young men and women to be very attentive in the information field and to develop critical thinking.

Dmitry Vadimovich Biryukov, Senior Assistant Prosecutor of the Tula Region for supervision over the enforcement of laws on federal security, inter-ethnic relations, countering extremism and terrorism, welcomed all the participants on behalf of the Prosecutor's Office of the Tula Region. 

The guest noted the relevance of the agenda of the scientific and practical conference and its importance for young people, who are most often targeted by terrorist and extremist organisations. In his speech Dmitry Vadimovich paid attention to the role of patriotic activities implemented by law enforcement agencies together with the Prosecutor's Office of the Tula region and aimed at forming a firm rejection of the ideas of radicalism.

The head of the department of the Centre for Countering Extremism of the Tula Region Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia spoke about fakes as one of the elements of information warfare and manifestations of modern extremism, using the example of the Tula Region. He emphasised that fake news always contains a so-called emotional hook, which lowers the degree of critical thinking of a person and sows seeds of discord in his soul. That is why it is necessary to check the information thoroughly and search for its source. 

The head of a division of the FSS of Russia in the Tula region reported on new methods of involving citizens in terrorist activity. He talked about cases in which people from whom money had been taken away fraudulently, taking advantage of their depressed state, were forced to commit unlawful acts.

Kamil Gazimagomedovich Landa, Doctor of Political Science, Chairman of the Dagestan Regional Branch of the Russian Association of Political Science, took part in the conference.

He devoted his speech to Sharia law as a fundamental factor in the prevention of religious extremism and terrorism. The guest, in particular, noted that Sharia defines the rules of behaviour and residence for Muslims in any state. A person should understand the Koran and honour the Constitution of the country where he lives.  

Countering the ideology of terrorism, said Kamil Gazimagomedovich, is an important component of the system of ensuring national security of any state. And eradication of radical manifestations of extremism depends on the quality of knowledge and skills of using tools against the ideology of terrorism.

Nikita Vasilyevich Nikitenko, Head of the Department of Integrated Security of TulSU, Director of the Coordination Centre for the formation of active citizenship among young people, prevention of inter-ethnic and inter-confessional conflicts, countering the ideology of terrorism and prevention of extremism, touched upon the topic of involvement in terrorist activities. The speaker focused his attention on forms of recruitment work to undermine ideological foundations.

Dmitriy Maksimovich Balyabkin, Assistant of the Department of Sociology and Political Science, spoke about traditional spiritual values as a factor in countering extremist ideologies. The formation of values, noted the speaker, in a child begins in early childhood and a huge role here belongs to the family. 

After the plenary session, the work of the scientific-practical conference continued in the sections “Terrorism and extremism in modern Russia: content, causes and forms of manifestation”, “The role of public organisations in preventive work to counter the ideology of terrorism and extremism”, “Ways to counter extremism and terrorism in the youth environment”.

Tatyana Krikunkova

Photo by Mikhail Gindin