Kabarda–Balkaria authorities arrest teenager on charges of ‘preparing terrorist attack’
Russia’s Investigative Committee has reported the detention and arrest of a 16-year-old schoolboy from Kabarda–Balkaria, accusing him of preparing attacks on police officers.
The arrest was announced by the Investigative Committee’s official spokesperson, Svetlana Petrenko, who said the teenager is charged with participation in the activities of a terrorist organisation and preparation for committing a terrorist act.
Investigators claimed the minor was allegedly preparing attacks on police officers in Nalchik and that components for making an improvised explosive device were seized during his arrest. In a video of the operation released by the Investigative Committee, a white package can be seen in the teenager’s hands, but its contents are not shown.
The Investigative Committee’s statement also says that the key piece of evidence in the case is a video address which, according to investigators, was recorded by the detainee himself. The Investigative Committee claims that the address was intended for the leaders of an unnamed international terrorist organisation and was sent via a messenger to an unidentified ‘handler’.
From the Investigative Committee’s statement, it is unclear whether they implied this alleged terrorist organisation is linked to the Islamic State or to Ukraine, such as the Freedom of Russia Legion.
Specific plans for the alleged attacks, their timing, and their intended targets were not mentioned in the official information.
The court, having considered the investigators’ request, chose pre-trial detention as a preventive measure. As a result, the 16-year-old was placed in a remand prison.
The Investigative Committee states that the investigation is ongoing and that all the circumstances of the case are being established. The agency did not provide additional details on how the security services identified the suspect, apart from mentioning the video recording.
Cases involving the preparation of terrorist attacks and participation in terrorist organisations have been initiated regularly in recent years in the regions of the North Caucasus, including against minors.
In July 2025, Russian state agency RIA Novosti reported that more than 150 teenagers aged 14 to 17 had been included in the country’s official list of terrorists and extremists, citing data from the Rosfinmonitoring (Federal Financial Monitoring Service of the Russian Federation) database.
The list currently includes 155 minors, including one 14-year-old, 23 aged 15, 46 aged 16, and 85 aged 17. The full registry of designated terrorists and extremists in Russia contains nearly 18,000 names.
Human rights defenders have previously pointed out that such cases are often accompanied by limited access to information and a lack of independent public verification of the evidence.
In recent years, Kabarda-Balkaria has seen repeated operations in which the FSB and Interior Ministry announced the ‘neutralisation’ of alleged members of terrorist groups. These operations have usually been conducted as counter-terrorism operations, but in none of the known cases have the authorities provided independent proof of the suspects’ links to extremist or terrorist organisations.
Three people suspected of terrorism killed by security forces in Kabarda-Balkaria in August 2025. This incident was in the village of Islamey in the Baksan district of Kabarda-Balkaria.
In one such incident in December 2022, two men were killed on the outskirts of Nalchik. The FSB claimed they were planning a terrorist attack against a military enlistment office and that they had been acting on orders from Ukrainian intelligence. These claims have not been independently verified, and the identities of the killed were not disclosed.
In July 2020, four alleged militants were killed in the Chegem district. Authorities claimed they were affiliated with the Islamic State, but no evidence was presented.
In the early 2000s, Kabarda-Balkaria was one of the regions in the North Caucasus most affected by armed insurgency. In 2005, the republic’s capital, Nalchik, witnessed a large-scale attack on security service buildings, which resulted in the deaths of over 50 people, including law enforcement officers and civilians.
In 2010, Islamey, where the recent shooting took place, was the site of a sabotage attack on the Baksan hydroelectric power station. Explosives damaged equipment and injured security guards. A militant group affiliated with the so-called Caucasus Emirate claimed responsibility for the attack.
Elizaveta Chukharova
