Last Saturday, a terrible terrorist attack took place in Russia. In the following article, we aim to elucidate some background: Why have Central Asians increasingly been involved in terrorist activities in recent years? What are the causes of Islamist radicalization? Why do some of the causes lie within Russia itself? And what can civil society do about it when politics fails to take adequate measures or none at all? And what do we as Austausch to fight against the causes of Islamist radicalization?