The influence of foreign stateson the activities of extremist organisations in the south of Russia

Introduction. The problem of the spread of extremist organizations’ activities in the South of Russia is intensified due to the increasing role of international actors and the influence of neighboring States. Extremist groups are included in the sphere of interests of countries with high level of institutional instability that have unresolved territorial administrative problems and also major terrorist organizations such as the ‘Islamic State’ (ISIL) prohibited on the territory of the Russian Federation. Methods. The author applies an institutional method to determine the role of international influence on the development of extremist organizations in the South of Russia. Analysis. Despite the decline in its activity, the ISIL continues to be among the priority threats to international security. The Russian Federation has successfully conducted anti-terrorist operation in Syria, while the ISIL operates in Iraq and other regions of the world. Its area of interest includes Russia, since the ISIL units exist on the territory of the Caucasus region and the Crimean Peninsula. At the same time, the territory of the Rostov region and the Republic of Crimea are subjected to the influence of the Ukrainian geo-strategic interests. The Ukrainian authorities act with territorial claims to the Russian Federation on a number of border regions as well as organize sabotage operations and support marginal movements. The so-called ‘Circassian question’ continues to be significant for the South of Russia. In the context of the present research, the author poses the problem of considering the interaction of neighboring countries and extremist organizations in the Russian border regions. The institutional research approaches allow determining the main “point of tension” in the southern border area, and to identify the main actors influencing the extremist organization. Results. The results of the work give conclusions about the main directions of foreign States’ influence on the regions of the South of Russia and counteraction to them by the security authorities.