April 20, 2025

Tali-unbanned


Tali-unbanned
Flag-waving? Callum Darragh, Wikimedia Commons

On April 17, the Russian Supreme Court removed the Taliban from the state's list of terrorist organizations. The Court announced the change via Telegram.

The fundamentalist militant Islamic Taliban movement, centered in Afghanistan, has been banned in Russia since 2003. In 2021, the organization became the de facto government of Afghanistan, although no state has recognized their leadership.

Despite the fact that the Taliban has been categorized as a terrorist organization for 20 years, the Russian government has recently been connecting with them, inviting its representatives to state events. In one instance, Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to them as "allies."

The move would lessen legal repercussions for Russian nationals who interact with, or even speak approvingly, about the Taliban. Notably, in March 2025, Russian officials fined journalist Nadezhda Kevorkova R600,000 ($6900) for murky allegations about social media posts regarding Taliban-run Afghanistan.

The change in designation could also benefit Russia. Reportedly, the Taliban has agreed to fight Valiyat Khorasan, the terrorist organization behind the May 2024 Crocus City Hall attack. Further, Secretary of the Security Council Sergei Shoigu asserted that a closer partnership with the Taliban would "strengthen political and economic ties" between Russia and Afghanistan.

The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979 to prop up a puppet regime there, setting in motion nearly five decades of war. The Soviet intervention kicked off a civil and international war that, resulted in over 600,000 Soviet and 150,000 Afghan casualties. When Soviet forces withdrew in 1989, the Taliban surged into the vacuum. By the mid-1990s it was ruling the country, and soon became the center for an international conspiracy that led to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US. Twenty years of US-Afghan war followed, until the US finally withdrew in 2021, which allowed the Taliban to return to power.

You Might Also Like

Hell Behind Bars for a Teenager
  • February 16, 2025

Hell Behind Bars for a Teenager

A 14-year-old Russian girl accused of terrorism spent almost a year in a pretrial detention center, where she was beaten and subjected to sexual violence.
Watch Your Mother Tongue
  • November 19, 2024

Watch Your Mother Tongue

Students chanting in Azerbaijani inside a Russian university are being investigated for terrorism.
Fabricating a Terrorist
  • August 28, 2024

Fabricating a Terrorist

A Ukrainian refugee in Russia received threatening messages from a Telegram account. Then she was arrested for terrorism.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

At the Circus
January 01, 2013

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955