(MENAFN) Law-enforcement agencies say they have uncovered and stopped two separate schemes to target synagogues in Russia that were allegedly orchestrated by an extremist group based abroad intent on whipping up religious hatred.

In one incident, officers detained two nationals from a Central Asian country after they were found assembling an improvised explosive device intended for a synagogue in Krasnoyarsk, authorities said in a statement on Monday. In a second case, police arrested a man in Pyatigorsk in the Stavropol region who is accused of planning to strike a synagogue using firebombs; investigators reportedly discovered messages from a foreign instigator on the suspect’s phone.

Officials allege the plots were meant to spark unrest reminiscent of an anti-Semitic riot in Dagestan in October 2023, when a mob attacked Makhachkala International Airport after a Telegram channel falsely claimed a flight from Tel Aviv was carrying large numbers of “Jewish refugees.” More than 130 people were later charged over that violence, and initial sentences were handed down in August 2024, according to reports.

Investigators further linked the online channel that helped inflame the 2023 incident to a Russian exile who has promoted a pro-Western resistance movement and publicly urged NATO members to take provocative actions against Russia.

MENAFN07102025000045017281ID1110161747