Provocations of this kind could exacerbate preexisting divisions by lending false credence to Islamophobic radicals that want a so-called “Russia for Russians”. The FSB busted a branch of the Afghan-based ISIS-K terrorist cell on Thursday that was plotting to attack a Moscow synagogue, which could have triggered inter-religious discord had the attack not been thwarted. Russia is an historically cosmopolitan civilization-state whose people have a strong sense of national unity, but there’s always the chance that provocations of this kind could exacerbate preexisting divisions by lending false credence to Islamophobic radicals that want a so-called “Russia for Russians”.
The professional Russia-haters in the West will be hard pressed to explain away Moscow’s protection of the synagogue by what is alleged to be an anti-Semitic government.
The professional Russia-haters in the West will be hard pressed to explain away Moscow’s protection of the synagogue by what is alleged to be an anti-Semitic government.