Paper Title
Rise of Radical Islam in North Caucasus: Challenge to Russia

Abstract
North Caucasus has been described as the ‘instable region’ of Russia. The advent of radical Islam in the region can be traced to the Chechen wars. The involvement of foreign fighters during the Chechen war in the region is considered responsible for sowing the seeds of extremism in the region. The advent of Wahhabis in the region has increased the violence in the region. The conflict between the traditional Islamists and the Pure Islamists is another challenge for Russian authorities in North Caucasus. However on the other hand there are scholars who argue that the growing disorder in the society as well the economic instability in the region, leads people to look forward towards religion as a panacea to the ills of the society. Russia has issued several laws and policies to curb the rising threat from radical Islamists in the region. However these policies would not be much effect until and unless these policies “wins the hearts and minds of the people in the region”. Keywords - North Caucasus, Russia, Islam, Wahhabis, Security.