Vladimir Putin has launched a sweeping crackdown on senior Muslim figures after a former Chechen official warned that radical Islamists were prepared to “control Moscow” in the event of a collapse of Kremlin power.
Russian security services carried out coordinated raids across Moscow, St Petersburg and several regional republics following inflammatory comments by Ruslan Kutayev, who claimed Russia’s growing Muslim population would become the decisive political force in a future post-Putin power struggle.
“We will control Moscow,” Kutayev declared in remarks that sent shockwaves through Russian nationalist and pro-war circles.
“At the right moment, we will act.”
He also claimed that confidence in Putin’s leadership was eroding inside Russia, saying: “Nobody believes Putin. Everyone knows that Putin has lost.”
The comments triggered fierce backlash from influential pro-Kremlin military bloggers and nationalist commentators, many of whom demanded investigations into Islamic organisations seen as close to the Russian state.
The Federal Security Service, or FSB, appears to have responded rapidly.
Among those detained was Rail-Khazrat Asainov, a senior Islamic cleric and member of Mordovia’s regional Public Chamber, who was reportedly arrested over alleged bribery accusations.
Former Karelia mufti Visam Ali Bardvil was separately jailed for 15 days after allegedly resisting police officers at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport.
Other prominent Islamic figures reportedly detained include Mohammed Henny and El Khikh Nidal Awadalla Ahmed.
Pro-Kremlin Telegram channels claimed investigators were examining possible links between some detained clerics, foreign organisations and the Muslim Brotherhood, which Russia classifies as a terrorist group.
The operation signals a significant shift in Moscow’s approach toward parts of Russia’s Islamic establishment, much of which has publicly backed Putin and supported the war in Ukraine.
Russian authorities have increasingly targeted Islamic institutions in recent years. In 2025, prosecutors labelled an Islamic reference text linked to the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia extremist, while clerics also came under scrutiny over controversial religious rulings interpreted by critics as endorsing polygamy.
The latest crackdown reflects growing anxiety within the Kremlin over demographic change and the increasing political visibility of Russia’s Muslim population, particularly in Moscow and major urban centres.
Kutayev’s remarks appeared designed to highlight precisely those fears.
In particularly incendiary comments, he dismissed Russia’s liberal opposition as dependent on Western money and suggested Islamist activists would be willing to use violence if necessary.
“We are people who, if necessary, will cut off heads, demolish buildings and go to the barricades,” he said.
Analysts say the episode exposes a potentially dangerous fault line inside modern Russia, where the Kremlin has long attempted to balance nationalist sentiment, ethnic tensions and the political integration of the country’s large Muslim population.
For years, Putin has relied heavily on loyal Muslim regional leaders — particularly in Chechnya — to maintain stability.
However, the increasingly hardline rhetoric emerging from nationalist circles following the Ukraine war has placed that balancing act under growing strain.
The arrests also highlight mounting Kremlin sensitivity to any suggestion of internal instability as the war in Ukraine drags on and political tensions continue simmering beneath the surface of Russian society.
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