From the late 2000s, international attention to links between the North Caucasus and the global jihadist movement gradually waned. It has recently resurfaced, however, primarily due to the presence of militants from Russia in the ranks of the “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.” Russia’s policy on the “Islamic State” (IS) is driven by a variety of interests, including those related to its Syria policy and its troubled relations with the West. Russia also has a degree of domestic security concerns about IS, taking into consideration that much of the fragmented, violent underground in the North Caucasus has already shifted its ideological loyalty to it. Jihadist returnees’ potential to reactivate the insurgency could become an additional complicating factor in this region. They may also find a foothold elsewhere in Russia.