Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

The whole of Russia is making efforts to guarantee the security of the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, which will run from February 7 to 23. On Tuesday, tens of thousands of Russian police, security agents, rescue workers and soldiers were deployed in the hope of preventing a terrorist attack during the games. These endeavors were carried out under the background of some terrible attacks.

Two attacks in the Russian city of Volgograd on December 29 and 30 shook the country. Previously on October 21, Volgograd experienced another terrorist explosion.

All these terrible acts of violence against civilians raised many questions especially on the eve of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. What goals do the terrorists pursue? Can the Russian authorities deal with terrorism successfully?

It appears the short-term objective of the terrorists is to disrupt the Winter Olympic Games by creating the atmosphere of insecurity and fear among the participants of the games, guests and the Russian public. And the long-term goal is to break away the southern regions of Russia and form an Islamist state or states.

Russian law-enforcement agencies did not perform well, making it possible three terrorist attacks to happen in the same city within three months.

Drastic measures are needed to control the situation on the ground. At the same time, it would be unrealistic to suppose that tightening police measures will be enough. This approach may work for some time, but in the long run, we should aim at winning hearts and minds of those who could be recruited by the terrorists.     

Before terrorists did not need a lot of people dead but a lot of people watching. But today, this approach does not work anymore. Terrorists need both a lot of victims and a worldwide audience.

One peculiarity of the current terrorist trend in Russia is that not all terrorists come from the Northern Caucasus as used to be the case.

Two terrorists involved in the explosions in Volgograd were ethnic Russians and came from the central Russian provinces. They adopted an extremist interpretation of Islam while living in central Russia and moved to the south to establish closer ties with extremist underground there.

The frontline against terrorism begins in the minds of people. Terrorism as an extremist ideology colored in Islam takes roots first of all in the minds of the young people. Terrorist recruiters work actively in mosques in different parts of Russia, spreading extremist ideology and seeking young people who may have social and personal problems.

We should build the first line of defense against terrorism not in geographical terms but in people's minds.

As a starting point we should bear in mind the fact that, even though all terrorists claim to be Muslims, they have nothing to do with traditional Islam, which has existed in Russia for centuries.

The followers of traditional Islam, especially its spiritual leaders, have moral authority and the opportunity to fight extremist distortions of Islam. They should pay special attention to young people while preaching, and try to bring home to their believers why they should stay away from extremism and adopt the norms of traditional Islam.

Extremist ideology is brought to Russia by graduates of some Islam schools from abroad. While studying there they learn intolerance to other religions and readiness to wage a holy war against non-Muslims. Russia should develop its own effective education system based on the norms of traditional Islam.

Though the venue of the coming Winter Olympic Games is the Russian city of Sochi, terrorism has become a transnational threat to Russia's security, which is why it should be dealt with internationally and joint efforts are vital to battle it.

It is a good sign that one of the major Russian terrorists, Doku Umarov, allegedly responsible for the terrorist attacks in Volgograd, is on the wanted list by US law-enforcement agencies. Russian and US authorities have also worked together to provide technical support for anti-terrorism efforts.

The struggle against terrorism is a common task and the coming Winter Olympic Games gives Russians an opportunity to unite our efforts in fighting this threat. 

The author is chair of the Political Science Department at the Diplomatic Academy in Moscow. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn