Putin Expresses Sympathy to Tajikistan After Tragic School Stabbing Incident

On Monday, President Vladimir Putin extended his sympathies to Tajikistan’s leader, Emomali Rahmon, following the tragic death of a 10-year-old Tajik student last week at a school near Moscow, labeling the incident as an “act of terrorism.”

Law enforcement apprehended a 15-year-old student last Tuesday after he assaulted a security guard and fatally stabbed Kobiljon Aliyev, a fourth grader, at Uspenskaya Secondary School in the Moscow suburb of Gorki-2.

The next day, Tajikistan’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador in Dushanbe, expressing its belief that the assault was driven by ethnic animosity and demanding a thorough investigation.

While Russian authorities have not publicly disclosed a motive for the attack, various reports suggest 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 reassured that the inquiry into the boy’s death would be “pursued to completion” and conveyed his condolences to both Rahmon and the bereaved family.

“The nature of such crimes, particularly those aimed at children, is exceptionally horrifying,” Putin remarked, expressing how deeply the tragedy had affected him.

Rahmon characterized the boy’s passing as “unexpected” and mentioned that Tajik officials had initiated their own investigation. Putin affirmed that Russian investigators would keep Tajik law enforcement apprised of any developments.

Last week, Telegram channels affiliated with Russian security services shared videos and images which they claimed were taken by the alleged assailant during the knife attack at Uspenskaya Secondary School and subsequently posted on social media.

In one of the videos, the teenager is seen confronting a group of fourth-grade students and their teacher in a school corridor, brandishing a knife and questioning the children’s ethnicity.

Russian media outlets reported that the mother of the deceased boy worked as a janitor at Uspenskaya Secondary School.