Editing Second Chechen War (section)

===Political radicalization of the separatist movement===
The Chechens had become increasingly radicalized. Former [[Soviet Armed Forces]] officers Dzhokhar Dudayev and Aslan Maskhadov were succeeded by people who rely more on [[Islamism|Islamist]] doctrine, rather than the secular [[nationalism|nationalistic]] feelings of the population. While Dudayev and Maskhadov were seeking from Moscow recognition of the independence of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, other leaders spoke out more about the need to expel Russia from the territory of the whole [[North Caucasus]], an impoverished mountain region inhabited mostly by Muslim, non-Russian ethnic groups.{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}}

In April 2006, asked whether negotiations with Russians are possible, the top separatist commander [[Doku Umarov]] answered: "We offered them many times. But it turned out that we constantly press for negotiations and it's as if we are always standing with an extended hand and this is taken as a sign of our weakness. Therefore we don't plan to do this any more." In the same month, the new separatist spokesman [[Movladi Udugov]] said that attacks should be expected anywhere in Russia: "Today, we have a different task on our hands – [[total war]], war everywhere our enemy can be reached. (...) And this means mounting attacks at any place, not just in the Caucasus but in all Russia." Reflecting growing radicalization of the Chechen-led militants, Udugov said their goal was no longer Western-style democracy and independence, but the [[Islamist]] "North Caucasian [[Emirate]]".{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}}

[[File:Flag of Caucasian Emirate.jpg|thumb|Flag of the [[Caucasian Emirate]]]]

This trend ultimately resulted in the October 2007 declaration of the [[Caucasus Emirate]] by [[Doku Umarov]] where he also urged for a global [[Jihad]], and the political schism between the moderates and the radical Islamists fighting in Chechnya and the neighbouring regions with ties in the Middle East.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/chechnya/Story/0,,2214769,00.html The battle for the soul of Chechnya]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080125232721/http://www.guardian.co.uk/chechnya/Story/0%2C%2C2214769%2C00.html |date=25 January 2008 }}, ''The Guardian'', 22 November 2007</ref> Some commanders, still fighting along with Doku Umarov, like [[Anzor Astemirov]], publicly denounced the idea of a global Jihad, but keep fighting for the independence of Caucasus states.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jamestown.org/chechnya_weekly/article.php?articleid=2373840 |title=Chechnya Weekly from the Jamestown Foundation |access-date=16 January 2008 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080213022450/http://www.jamestown.org/chechnya_weekly/article.php?articleid=2373840 |archive-date=13 February 2008 }}</ref>

The struggle garnered support from Muslim sympathizers around the world nonetheless, and some of them were willing to take up arms. Many commentators thought it was likely that Chechen fighters had links with international Islamist separatist groups. The [[BBC]] said in an online Q&A on the conflict: "It has been known for years that Muslim volunteers have traveled to Chechnya to join the fight, reportedly after attending training camps in [[Afghan training camp|Afghanistan]] or [[Pakistan]]."<ref name="alert"/>

Islamic radicalisation also affected the Chechen separatist movement's support abroad. In 2013, the [[Tsarnaev brothers]] launched [[Boston Marathon bombing|a suicide attack]] in [[Boston]] with a claim of [[jihad]], accusing the United States of killing Muslims of [[Iraq]], [[Afghanistan]] and [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], weakening sympathy for the Chechen resistance globally and increasing xenophobia against Chechens and Muslims in the United States.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/details-emerge-on-suspected-boston-bombers/2013/04/19/ef2c2566-a8e4-11e2-a8e2-5b98cb59187f_story.html|title=Details emerge on brothers suspected in bombing at Boston Marathon|first1=Peter|last1=Finn|first2=Carol D.|last2=Leonnig|first3=Will|last3=Englund|date=19 April 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=1 January 2020|archive-date=18 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218150404/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/details-emerge-on-suspected-boston-bombers/2013/04/19/ef2c2566-a8e4-11e2-a8e2-5b98cb59187f_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Rampant [[Islamic terrorism in Europe]] and the exclusive role of the Chechens on the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]], most notably [[Abu Omar al-Shishani]], also put the Chechen separatist movement in jeopardy due to increasing anti-Islamic sentiment on the rise in Europe, even in some of the countries in Europe like [[Poland]], who supported Chechens during and after conflicts with Russia.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28217590|title=Georgian roots of Isis commander|first=Nina|last=Akhmeteli|work=BBC News|date=9 July 2014|access-date=8 January 2020|archive-date=4 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200204163436/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28217590|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.connections.clio-online.net/article/id/artikel-4692|title=A Different Dynamic? Explaining Prejudice Against Muslims in the Russian Federation: Islamophobia or Internalised Racial Hierarchy?|first=David|last=Herbert|date=7 July 2020|website=www.connections.clio-online.net|access-date=6 July 2020|archive-date=1 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101065314/https://www.connections.clio-online.net/article/id/artikel-4692|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last1=Dudzińska | first1=Agnieszka | author-link1=Agnieszka Dudzińska | last2=Kotnarowski | first2=Michał | title=Imaginary Muslims: How the Polish right frames Islam | website=Brookings | date=24 July 2019 | url=https://www.brookings.edu/research/imaginary-muslims-how-polands-populists-frame-islam/ | access-date=6 July 2020 | archive-date=13 May 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513194958/https://www.brookings.edu/research/imaginary-muslims-how-polands-populists-frame-islam/ | url-status=live }}</ref>