By I. Razafimbahiny*
Introduction
Among the thousands of foreign fighters who have joined the civil war in Syria are dozens of radical Sunnis from Russia, mostly from the North Caucasus republics. Many of these jihadis are active on social media - particularly on Vkontakte (VK), which is the second biggest social network service after Facebook and is popular among Russian-speakers worldwide. The jihadis - some of whom claim to be part of the jihad group of Sayfullah Al-Shishani, who was recently killed in Syria[1] - use their social media accounts to spread their messages, share experiences from the front, keep in touch with friends, family and followers back home, and urge fellow Muslims to join the fighting in Syria. Some of them also use their accounts to solicit donations for the jihad and the mujahideen.
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