Moscow’s policy toward imposing some semblance of order on the unruly North Caucasus has long been blighted by a major misconception: that the perceived threat posed to the region by Islamic fundamentalism can be effectively countered by a broad program of socioeconomic development while turning a blind eye to the corruption, cronyism, arbitrary police violence, and widespread human rights abuses that have alienated a large proportion of the region’s estimated 10 million population, most of whom are Muslims.
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