On Monday, President Vladimir Putin extended his condolences to Tajikistan’s Emomali Rahmon following the tragic death of a 10-year-old Tajik student at a school near Moscow. He condemned the incident as an “act of terrorism.”
Last Tuesday, a 15-year-old student was apprehended after injuring a security guard and fatally stabbing Kobiljon Aliyev, a fourth grader, at Uspenskaya Secondary School in the Gorki-2 suburb of Moscow.
The Foreign Ministry of Tajikistan summoned the Russian ambassador in Dushanbe the next day, expressing its belief that the attack stemmed from ethnic hatred and demanding an unbiased investigation.
Although Russian law enforcement has not officially stated a motive for the attack, numerous reports indicate that the suspect’s phone contained “extremist quotes,” names of far-right groups, and references to the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand.
During a meeting with Rahmon in St. Petersburg on Monday, Putin assured that the investigation into the murder would be “thoroughly pursued” and conveyed his condolences to both the Tajik president and the victim’s family.
“Crimes of this kind, particularly those directed at children, are especially horrific,” Putin remarked, noting that the event had profoundly disturbed him.
Rahmon called the child’s death “unexpected” and mentioned that Tajikistan has initiated its own investigation. Putin assured that Russian investigators would keep their Tajik counterparts updated on any new developments.
In the past week, Telegram news channels associated with Russian security forces shared videos and images they claimed were recorded by the suspected perpetrator during the knife attack at Uspenskaya Secondary School, which were subsequently uploaded to social media.
One video shows the teenager confronting a group of fourth-grade students and their teacher in a school corridor, brandishing a knife while inquiring about their ethnic backgrounds.
Russian media reported that the mother of the deceased boy worked as a janitor at Uspenskaya Secondary School.
