Russia bolsters security in Muslim-majority regions after anti-Jew airport riot

Following an anti-Semitic riot over the weekend, Russia stepped up security in the predominantly Muslim North Caucasus region on Tuesday. The leader of Chechnya, who is backed by the Kremlin, also issued an order for rioters to be shot dead if they do not heed warnings.

In response to rioters in the southern Dagestan region storming an airport on Sunday in an attempt to “catch” Jewish passengers arriving on a flight from Tel Aviv, President Vladimir Putin called an emergency meeting with top security officials on Monday night.

In response to Israel’s war against Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza, there had been a number of anti-Semitic incidents in the North Caucasus in recent days, which led to the unrest. Israel has pleaded with Moscow to defend Jews and Israelis living under Russian law.

Over 80 people were detained as a result of the airport riot, which some Jewish leaders compared to pogroms in the Tsarist era and caused at least 20 injuries. It also appeared to take authorities by surprise because hours passed before security forces retook control of Makachkala’s airport.

According to the Kremlin, Putin used Monday’s meeting to discuss bolstering measures to counter external interference. Putin has accused the West and Ukraine of inciting trouble via social media, an accusation that the United States and Kyiv have denied.

It did not specify the nature of those actions, but it was reported that Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya, which receives support from the Kremlin, gave the order to shoot and kill anyone attempting to start a riot in his country, which borders Dagestan and has a majority of Muslims.

“We must arrest and imprison anyone who participates in unapproved rioting, even if it is just one person. Alternatively, you could fire three warning shots into the air, followed by a fourth shot to the forehead if the target continues to break the law. There won’t be any more (after that). This is my command,” Kadyrov reportedly told security personnel, according to the official Russian news agency RIA.

The president of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Russia, Rabbi Alexander Boroda, urged the Kremlin on Monday to make sure that everyone involved in the Dagestan riot is located and dealt with “as strictly as possible” by the police.

Putin spent a large portion of his Monday night’s public statement criticising the rioters rather than denouncing the demonstrators or their actions.

(With agency inputs)