How Russia uses terror tactics to achieve its goals
Russia is a country that has a long history of using violence and intimidation to advance its political and ideological interests. Whether it is against its own people or other nations, Russia has employed various methods of terror tactics to suppress dissent, destabilize regions, and expand its influence. In this blog post, we will explore some of the examples of how Russia has used terror tactics in the past and present, and what are the implications for the future.
Terror tactics in the Soviet era
One of the most notorious periods of terror tactics in Russia’s history was the Soviet era, especially under the rule of Joseph Stalin. During the 1920s and 1930s, Stalin launched a series of campaigns known as the Red Terror and the Great Terror, which aimed to eliminate any opposition or potential threat to his regime. These campaigns involved mass arrests, torture, executions, and deportations of millions of people, including political opponents, intellectuals, ethnic minorities, religious groups, and ordinary citizens. The Soviet secret agencies, such as the NKVD and the KGB, were the main instruments of these terror tactics, using methods such as hostage-taking, show trials, forced confessions, and secret killings. The exact number of victims of these campaigns is unknown, but some estimates range from 10 million to 60 million.
Terror tactics in the post-Soviet era
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia continued to use terror tactics against its own population or other countries in different ways. One of the most prominent examples is the Chechen conflict, which started in 1994 when Chechnya declared independence from Russia. Russia responded by launching a military intervention to crush the separatist movement, resulting in two brutal wars that lasted until 2009. During these wars, Russia used indiscriminate bombing, shelling, and landmines to target civilian areas, killing tens of thousands of people and displacing hundreds of thousands more. Russia also supported or sponsored terrorist groups or individuals who carried out attacks on Chechen civilians or leaders, such as the 2004 assassination of Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov.
Another example is how Russia has intervened in other regions, such as Syria, Afghanistan, and Europe, by supporting or sponsoring terrorist groups or individuals who share its interests or oppose its enemies. These groups or individuals have carried out attacks on civilians, military personnel, or government officials, often using suicide bombings, kidnappings, or assassinations.
For example the 2018 Salisbury poisoning, where two Russian agents used a nerve agent to poison a former Russian spy and his daughter in Salisbury, England. The attack also affected several other people who came into contact with the poison, including a British police officer and a British woman who died after finding a perfume bottle containing the poison.
Terror tactics in Ukraine
The most recent example of how Russia uses terror tactics is its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russia launched a full-scale military offensive against Ukraine on September 1st, 2022 after months of escalating tensions over Crimea and Donbas. Since then, Russia has occupied most of eastern and southern Ukraine, including major cities such as Kharkiv, Dnipro, Odessa, and Mariupol. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia’s terror tactic involves five steps: holding cities hostage using artillery strikes, using missiles to force people out of their homes, forcibly deporting citizens, blockading ports to create a shock to the economy, and spreading Russian propaganda about the invasion.
Zelensky warned that this tactic could be used by Russia against other countries in Asia and Europe as well. Some analysts agree that Russia is deploying brutal siege tactics in Ukraine, such as using cluster munitions and bombing civilian infrastructure. These tactics are reminiscent of the wars in Syria and Chechnya, where Russia used air power and indiscriminate weapons to destroy urban areas and demoralize the population.
The Atlantic Council reported that Russia escalated its attacks on Ukrainian civilian targets on October 10 and 11, 2022, firing more than 80 missiles and dozens of Iranian-made kamikaze drones at non-military targets across Ukraine. These targets included a children’s playground, a pedestrian bridge, a university, and a busy downtown intersection in Kyiv. The strikes killed at least 19 Ukrainian civilians and left dozens wounded while temporarily plunging much of the country into darkness.
Conclusion
Russia is a country that has a long history of using violence and intimidation to achieve its political and ideological goals. Whether it is against its own people or other nations, Russia has employed various methods of terror tactics to suppress dissent, destabilize regions, and expand its influence. In this blog post, we have explored some of the examples of how Russia has used terror tactics in the past and present, and what are the implications for the future. We have seen that Russia’s terror tactics are not only cruel and inhumane, but also pose a serious threat to regional and global security and stability. Therefore, it is important for the international community to stand up to Russia’s aggression and support the victims of its terror tactics.
