New East network
Isis launches Russian-language propaganda channel
Joanna Paraszczuk for RFE/RL, part of the Guardian New East network
Monday 13 July 2015 00.00 EDT Last modified on Monday 13 July 2015 07.33 EDT
The militant group Islamic State has stepped up its Russian-language propaganda efforts, another sign it is becoming more powerful in the post-Soviet countries.
The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said recently that 2,000 Russian nationals are currently fighting in Syria or Iraq. In June, the country’s security council chief, Nikolai Patrushev, said that there was “no possibility” of stemming the tide of fighters.
Though Russian-speaking Islamic State (Isis) militants have put out their own messages for some time, in recent weeks a new Russian-language wing, Furat Media, has emerged, with Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr accounts broadcasting under a river-themed logo.
It was through Furat that the militant group declared the establishment of a province in the North Caucasus, inside the Russian Federation itself. The propaganda wing also issued a professionally produced video, Unity Of The Mujahideen Of The Caucasus, which included interviews with Russian-speaking militants in Iraq and Syria. Dozens more are available for download from the site.
Previous Russian-language output had been piecemeal, with most videos either without subtitles or arriving after the Arabic versions were broadcast. Much was produced from outside of Isis-controlled territory.
Now Furat, which was announced on 5 June and began tweeting on 18 June, produces a mix of subtitled videos, addresses from Isis militants, DVDs, motivational messages, listicles, and propaganda in original Russian produced inside Syria and Iraq.
Despite crackdowns on pro-Isis accounts by Twitter and Facebook, the number broadcasting and sharing Jihadi material is vast – the Bookings Institute in late 2014 estimated that there were over 46,000 accounts with over a thousand followers used by Isis supporters.
Furat has so far been resilient to official takedowns, though its homepages on Russian social website VKontakte have been closed. A Facebook account has already been banned but the group opened a new, closed one in July. Just over a week later, the group had nearly 250 members.
Formalising operations
That Russian-speaking militants in Syria are disseminating propaganda is nothing new. The various factions have had their own websites and social media accounts almost since they first emerged in Syria in late 2012.
Omar al-Shishani climbing out of a humvee, in an image from the militant's social media.
Isis leader Omar al-Shishani climbing out of a humvee, in an image from the militant’s social media. Photograph: AP via militant social media account
But as Isis’s Russian-speaking faction has grown in prominence and numbers, it has transformed its media operations into an increasingly slick and professional operation.
The main precursor to Furat began life around early 2013 as FiSyria, a website run by a group of Chechen militants led by Georgia-born Omar al-Shishani, according to the Wall Street Journal. At first, FiSyria was effectively Shishani’s personal site, offering news about battles he and his fellow Chechen militants were involved in.
But when Shishani moved to Isis in late 2013, where he is now a military commander in Syria, FiSyria became a Russian-language Isis propaganda website. It now redirects to Furat, and a 5 June announcement confirmed that all Russian-language media production by would be done under the single brand.
Recruitment and retention
Furat’s main purpose is to recruit new Russian-speaking militants, both from the Russian Federation – particularly the North Caucasus – and elsewhere in the former Soviet Union, especially Central Asia.
The media group also spreads Isis messages to Russian-speaking militants already in the group, both via social media and by creating and distributing subtitled CDs containing propaganda videos.
Another important aim is to build ideological bridges between militants in Syria and Iraq, and those who are still in the North Caucasus. A recent Facebook post included photographs of a batch of CDs with an explanation that these were for “brothers in the caliphate”, the term used by Isis for territory under its control.
— Furatinfo (@infoFurat)
July 1, 2015
Media Center Furat Очередная партия дисков "На Сраже 7" для братьев в Халифате. #furat #Кавказ pic.twitter.com/7LqP2Ow6An
By translating Arabic-language material into Russian, Furat is able to ensure that all Russian-speakers in Isis-controlled territories have access to the same messages and ideology as their Arabic-speaking counterparts.
A version of this article originally appeared on RFE/RL
