Russian Military Likely to Be Even Less Willing to Have Central Asians in Its Ranks after Latest Moscow Terrorist Attack, Sidorov Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Apr. 3 – One of the consequences of the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack is that the Russian military is likely to be even less willing to have Central Asian migrants join its ranks to fight in Ukraine, a policy that the Kremlin has been pushing in order to avoid an unpopular general mobilization, Vadim Sidorov says.

            The Prague-based expert on ethnic relations in the Russian Federation says that whenever there has been a terrorist incident involving Central Asians, the Russian military has concluded that Central Asians are unreliable as soldiers and does not want them in its ranks (trtrussian.com/mnenie/novye-russkie-v-vojne-za-russkij-mir-17628747).

            In support of his argument that the involvement of Tajiks in the latest terrorist incident in Moscow will have that effect, Sidorov points to the conclusions of Russian nationalist commentator Vladimir Prokhvatilov who said in November 2023 that such soldiers “fight poorly” (govoritmoskva.ru/news/388570/).

            Of course, there are exceptions to that, Sidorov concedes; but that image of Central Asians in the minds of Russian commanders likely will define how they will view any Kremlin efforts to dramatically expand the Central Asian component of the Russian military now fighting in Ukraine.