Turkmen authorities are exploring how to bring Turkmen students studying at Russian universities back home, amid fears of an anti-immigrant backlash in the wake of last week’s terrorist attack on Moscow’s outskirts.
People close to police and security agencies in one Turkmen region told RFE/RL that they had received orders from the capital Ashgabat to figure out how to repatriate Turkmen students from Russia.
It's unclear exactly how many Turkmen students attend Russian universities, though estimates put the number in the thousands.
The government has also ordered officials to organize meetings with students and teachers, to warn them about religious radicalism, said one person with knowledge of the plans who asked not to be named due to fear of prosecution. They added that police have also received instructions saying that "some Western countries were behind the individuals who carried out the attack" at the Crocus City Hall on March 22.
Four gunmen entered the Moscow venue as a rock concert was about to begin, opening fire on the crowd and later setting fire to the building. As of March 26, the death toll stood at 139, with more than 120 people wounded by gunshots, smoke inhalation, or burns.
Russian authorities have accused four ethnic Tajik men who worked as migrant laborers in Russia of being the attackers; four other people with Central Asian backgrounds have also been accused of being accomplices in the attack.
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As Tajik Suspects Face Charges For Moscow Attack, Other Migrants Face Backlash In Russia
The arrests have stoked fears of an anti-immigrant backlash in Russian society; millions of migrant workers from Central Asia labor in Russia, where wages are substantially higher. Most Central Asian nations rely heavily on remittances to buttress their economies.
Kyrgyzstan has already advised its citizens to refrain from traveling to Russia out of fears Kyrgyz nationals could be harassed or attacked.
Security officers in three other Turkmen cities -- Cheleken, Balkanabat, and Turkmenbashi -- were reportedly conducting mass questioning of men and women on their way to mosques for prayers, according to local witnesses. The majority of those stopped and questioned were men with beards and women in hijabs.
The security officers "recommended" some of those who were stopped for questioning "to pray at home" and others were asked about links with radical Islamist groups, multiple people told RFE/RL.
Law enforcement officers also reportedly told believers that they should stop fasting during Ramadan, when all practicing Muslims abstain from food, water, and smoking from sunrise to sunset. The Muslim holy month began this year on March 10.
In the western city of Turkmenbashi, all shops selling religious items and clothes, such as rugs for prayers, hijabs, Korans, and similar goods were ordered closed following the Moscow attack.
The gas-rich Central Asian desert nation is one of the most closed and repressive countries in the world.