ISIS' Influence May Be Behind Attacks In Russia; Vladimir Putin Warns People Of 'Hard Times'

Grozny, the capital of Russia's Chechnya, is under attack, and some analysts believe ISIS may have influenced the incident. News of rebels seizing schools, state buildings and attacking traffic policemen in the city spread on social media. There have also been reports of artillery fire from the Avtozavodsky district in downtown Grozny.

Political analysts have raised the possibility that ISIS may have influenced the attackers in Chechnya's capital. They believe the perpetrators have "ideological links" with ISIS. Caucasian Knot Internet site editor-in-chief Gregory Shvedov told the Daily Beast the incident in the Russian city was another episode in a series of terror attacks in Chechnya within the year. He said the underground wants to show that the current system of security is not "effective." Shvedov revealed that Caucasian Knot reported a break in the Caucasus Emirate with some insurgents joining ISIS. He went on to say that it was not clear if that faction is responsible for the latest incident in Russia.

Ramzan Kadyrov, Russia's key leader in Chechnya, posted a photo of a corpse on Instagram with the caption that an anti-terror special operation was ending with six rebels killed in one of the city's state buildings, Dom Pechati. Kadyrov asked residents not to stay in their homes. In an interview with Echo of Moscow, the Russian leader said the operation will be over in 20 minutes but the fighting lasted for hours.

Milana Mazaveya, who was in the city, told the Daily Beast that it was the first time since Aug. 6, 1996 that she had seen a large-scale attack on Grozny. The insurgency attack occurred only a few hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin was due to deliver his speech in the Kremlin.

Terrorists had released their own video called "Mujahideen address about the fighting in Jokhar" with Jokhar as the Islamist name for Chechnya. The man in the video said the attack was a shahid or a martyrdom operation as his group will fight to the death.

Meanwhile, Mr Putin urged Russians to be resilient in the face of hard times. In his annual address to the Federation Council, he warns Russians to prepare for challenges ahead as the country's economy continues to slide due to falling oil prices, BBC News reports. Western sanctions on Russia were imposed due to Moscow's intervention in the Ukraine crisis.

Mr Putin has accused the West of trying to weaken Russia and raise an "iron curtain." He declared he did not regret the annexation of Crimea.