Most immediately intriguing

Most immediately intriguing and certainly most worrisome to Moscow are signs that Chechen radicals who have been fighting in Syria may now return to their homeland and challenge Russian control. This is especially concerning given the anti-Russian attitudes of this group and of North Caucasians who have been living in Syria for decades (Riddle, January 31; Idel Realii, February 3). If such groups do return, they may find themselves at odds not only with the Kadyrov regime but also with another group of anti-Kadyrov Chechens, the secular and pro-Western ones now fighting alongside Ukrainian forces against Russian invaders but who also may return if conditions allow (Window on Eurasia, January 24). สล็อต