Information Activity of Radical Nationalist Associations in the Social Networks of the Russian Internet and Terrorism

The purpose of the study is to identify the main trends in the activities of radical nationalist communities in the online space and their links to terrorist organizations in order to be able to predict future activity.   Methodological basis of the research: the principle of historicism played a certain role in the study, namely, the comparative historical method was used to identify the factors determining nationalism and the activities of radical nationalist organizations. The study also used the method of content analysis and traditional general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, generalization, abstraction, analogy.   Research results. The activities of radical nationalist associations banned within the territory of the Russian Federation continue in the online space, access to the offline space is insignificant. The liquidation of extremist sites is not carried out systematically, but episodically and by the decision of hosting providers, while new sites appear and revive in other sectors of the Russian online community. The alarming trend of the past two years has been violent incidents committed by individualists, not connected with a certain terrorist group, and the ideological attitudes of these persons are variable. The Internet space is regularly updated with new photos, audio and video narratives of the extremist content, while counter-narratives are provided very limitedly. There is a gradual atomization of violence, which leads to a decrease in the number of victims of terrorist attacks, but at the same time the fight against terrorism is becoming more difficult. Prospects for the study. The results of the study can be used in scientific research in the field of political science, conflictology, in expert and analytical activities, and will also find application in adjusting state policy priorities, identifying trends and processes that produce risks and threats to national security, developing scientifically based management decisions to reduce socio-political and economic threats and risks to the stable development of the state.