On March 22, 2024, Russia experienced one of its most devastating terrorist attacks when four assailants targeted Crocus City Hall in Moscow. The attackers opened fire on concertgoers awaiting a performance by the Russian rock band “Picnic” and then set the venue ablaze. The assault resulted in the deaths of 145 people and injured over…
Category: Security case studies
Turning My PhD into a Book: Challenges, Insights, and Reflections
It has been a while since I last updated this blog. Life became complicated, and I had to prioritise family, book writing, and mental health. Unfortunately, that meant putting my blog on hold. But I’ve missed it—especially my updates on turning my phd into a book, annual reflections, the collecting-of-stones posts, and goal-setting for the…
Crocus City Hall attack is Russia’s second-worst terrorist attack: the aftermath
On the 22nd of March 2024, four assailants attacked Crocus City Hall, where a show of the Russian rock band “Picnic” was about to start. The attackers were killing the people indiscriminately and set the concert hall ablaze. On this day Russia lost 145 people dead and over 500 wounded. This makes the Crocus City…
Breaking News – Book Contract Signed with Routledge!
Exciting News! I am thrilled to announce that I have recently signed a book contract with Routledge for my upcoming work titled “Terrorism, Security, and Power in Russia: Domestic, Regional, and International Dimensions.” Synopsis of the Work:In this groundbreaking book, I delve into the intricate relationship between terrorism, security, and power in Russia since the…
Webinar Announcement: China and Central Asia – A New Dependency
📅 Date: Wednesday, December 13, 2023 🕑 Time: 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM (UK time, GMT) 🎙️ Moderator: Humphrey Hawksley – Author & Former BBC Asia Correspondent 🌐 Panellists: 🌐 Closing Remarks by: Barry Gardiner MP – Chair of TDF Join us for a thought-provoking live webinar, ‘China and Central Asia: A New Dependency.’ organised…
The death of Prigozhin: When the conspiracies become mainstream
Exactly two months after Prigozhin’s “march of justice”, which also has been called a mutiny or a coup, the main man behind it all – Yevgeniy Prigizhin – was reported to be onboard a plane that crashed in the Tverskaya oblast’, north-west of Moscow on its way to St. Petersburg. The reports coming from Russia…
Counterterrorism Policy in the Russian Federation: Furthering the Needs of the Regime – new paper is out
Counterterrorism Policy in the Russian Federation: Furthering the Needs of the Regime – a new paper is out in co-authorship with Dr Scott Walker. We discuss how illiberal regimes utilise counterterrorism to the level when the lines blur between genuine fighting terrorism efforts and the regime’s desire to stay in power. We use the case…
Prigozhin’s rebellion aka “March of Justice”, Putin’s emotional speech, and Wagner’s relocation to Belarus
Russia has seen dramatic political and military development in the last 24h: Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner Group, has officially declared his intentions to go back to Moscow to challenge the Ministry of Defense and Shoigu himself in a rebellion he calls the “March of Justice” (marsh spravedlivosti). Prigozhin claims that the Russian forces…
Russian propaganda: war escalation. October update
What are the developments in Russian propaganda in October? Sergei Kurginyan, a Russian ultraconservative politician argued that Russia is the last bastion of the white race but he is not racist, how could you think that? This and other odd debates have been on Russian TV in October, starting from an absolute mental discussion that…
War in Ukraine. Russian propaganda
There has been some hard-to-believe propaganda shared by Russian state media such as RIA Novosti. In the latest piece condemning the resistance against the war in Ukraine by the Russian intelligentsia, Natalia Osipova lays out the main points that the state has against its people that do not support the war. The original of the…