Over the past days, there have been signs that Russia is increasingly concerned about the threat posed by the Islamic State (IS). On October 28, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) made a number of arrests in Moscow of men suspected of collaborating with IS. Russian media reports say dozens of suspects were nabbed. Among them were six Azerbaijanis suspected of being IS accomplices.
The Moscow arrests came after the Prosecutor-General's office announced on October 27 that some pro-IS accounts on the Russian social networking site VKontakte had been closed.
Outside of the concerns of the Russian government and security services, it is indisputable that IS is a concern for ordinary Russians. For example, reports this week claim that a Russian citizen, Sergei Gorbunov, was executed by IS earlier this year. Gorbunov was revealed to be a hostage in Syria in October 2013, when a video appeared on YouTube in which he asked for a ransom to be paid.
Gorbunov was captured by Russian-speaking militants from the faction Jaish Al-Muhajireen Wal-Ansar, which at the time was led by Umar Shishani. When Umar Shishani left Jaish Al-Muhajireen Wal-Ansar for IS, Gorbunov was reportedly transferred as well.
Another Russian citizen, a tourist named Konstantin Zhuravlev, is also being held hostage in Syria, by the Liwa Al-Tawheed faction.