The aftermath of the Crocus City Hall attack raised numerous questions of ethics of legal practice. Legal defense of detained in connection to terrorist attack on the well-known and commonly anticipated venue near Moscow received numerous threats toward them, their families and relatives provoking discussion of morality and normativity, as well as migration.

Societies depend on bordered nations and legal interpretations. Governments pertain a set of legal institutions that determine order of institutions that further dictate the order of activities of subjects in conjunction with political power. States are sociological and geographical. Ensured societal freedom explores the becoming of citizen not only as a legal and political occurrence, but also social. Furthermore, it is necessary to distinguish between law and morality hence subordination of law to morality would deprive society of meaning-making discourse due to assumption of a legal definition of morality rather than scientific understanding of law. Governments are tasked with an uneasy goal of achieving at times contradictory interests of the social participants, their collective will, as well as upholding an accessible meaning of moral and ethical values from deterioration.

French philosopher and mathematician Auguste Comte argued for sociological freedom of conscious and expressed that reason should resemble reasoning of math and astronomy leading to the general notion of positive law rather than the question of justice. Nonetheless, political science and jurisprudence as much as they should be exact in their reasoning should preoccupy themselves with guarantees to realise the rights and freedoms of every member of the society.

The end of 19^th century seen formulation of primary understanding of separation of natural and social sciences. As natural sciences became known as generalising with prevailing common patterns of development, social sciences became known as individualising. Positivism and scientism dictated orientation toward research methods and models that would provide general objectivity and measurable rationality to observation and interpretation. Scientific positivism in this understanding renders some thesis difficult to quantify and verify by means of exact sciences, however, usually contemporary agreed upon standards of interpretation allow to accurately derive meaning from the observations to some degree of interdisciplinary certainty.

Contemporary positive law recognises the need for consideration of social wellbeing. Legal sciences can be theoretical, historical, in accordance to branches, specialised, and international. Matters of government and law are studied in philosophy, economy, political science, hermeneutics, ethics, psychology and other disciplines.

Moreover, such issues as slavery, genocide, terrorism, torture, racism are impossible without moral and ethical dimension. Therefore, neither politics nor law can completely ignore moral and ethical criteria and principles. Those issues are refracted through ideas of national interest and once translated into governance raise the question of lawfulness and legality of state power to implement equality, justice, freedom, and protection of human rights.

These considerations became resound in claims that terrorists cannot and should not be defended. Federal Chamber of Advocates of Russian Federation’s president – Svetlana Volodina said that people expressed such views and threats toward the legal defense representatives out of grief and sorrow, as well as lack of understanding of the role of a defense lawyer in a legal process.

Lawyers’ community experiences a whole range of experiences, some of those experiences include threats and an array of violence from verbal abuses to acts of murder. In March of 2024, in Republic of Dagestan, lawyer Sergey Osipov was killed together with his defendant who received 1.5 years for a fatal car incident, sentence that did not find agreement with the father of the deceased victim. As public raised concerns over lynching, the remarks included hesitance and expectation for lawyer to know what type of case is being taken on. Nonetheless, there were some who brought up the need for recognition of legal structure and moreover others who brought up the cultural problematic of lynching. In some instances, lawyers violate their good professional standing. In February of 2022, in Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia, lawyer Barisbiy Mekerov in an attempt to return his pawned Mercedes shot the new rightful owner of the vehicle consequentially having his lawyer’s license revoked and been sentenced to 15 years of maximum security penal colony with additional restriction of liberty for a period of 1.5 years, as well as a fine of 40 thousand rubles. In other instances, lawyers uphold and defend the legal norms. In July of 2023, in Moscow, a lawyer Elena Ponomareva who had to testify as a witness and declined to support the testimony proposed by the defendants been attacked by a group of drug dealers from Moscow region with zelyonka alternatively known as a brilliant green dye that is known for its damage to the eyes.

The lawyers of the Crocus City Hall attack defendants are being asked to refuse to participate in the trial. The monstrous terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall caused enormous outrage in society. Simultaneously, each person brought to criminal liability must have a professional lawyer who will represent his position in court exclusively within the framework of the law. President of Federal Chamber of Advocates of Russian Federation – Svetlana Volodina explains that lawyers participating in this process fulfill the duty assigned to them by the Constitution and the criminal procedure law to provide qualified legal assistance. The legal profession does not necessitate establishing the defendant’s innocence, rather it is about the rights of the persecuted.

While the public outrage is understandable hence the defendants caused irreparable harm to the directly and at various extent impacted by the terrorist act, their families, relatives, friends and society as a whole – they have violated the rights of people to which they had no right whatsoever – the representation of the rights of the defendants within the respective, existent legal framework represents and upholds the general rights of people mindful of those who for one or another reason violated the law and enables to maintain social balances, as well as to secure from the harms of social imbalances.

With integrity in mind, most effective would be to support development considerate of numerous contemporary authoritative scientific ethical and cultural processes to the outmost means of each member of the society and their, hopefully enabled, capacity.

Whilst it should not even be a viable consideration to see permissibility and viability of acts of violence and terror as means of solution of any problem, as a justification to find resolve through dissemination of suffering, fear, and chaos. Those who were unable to have been safeguarded and protected from such devastation and immense sorrow would with God’s help, unrested efforts and wisdom testify to the responsibility to attest for the non-repetition of such acts.

Certainly, impartial exercise of professional responsibilities can serve to various outcomes. It can help people in need, as well as to enable crime. It is impartiality that does not allow for a professional to use their own preferences, ideals, and values as a criterion. Professionalism should not be to the detriment of morality and morality should not be to the detriment of professionalism. Imperatives of law can not be subordinated to the imperatives of morality and imperatives of morality to legal imperatives.

Lawyer’s request to not detain their client is not a matter of their opinion, but rather a procedure to convey the will of their client and to represent the rights of the client. The interest to ask to not be detained and taken into custody is not unreasonable will of the client to be conveyed should it be expressed by the client. The attempts to identify lawyers with their clients been raising the need to clarify that in the absence of the lawyer the suspect can not be detained. The defendants could not have received the indictment, no questioning would be possible and judge would not be able to start the proceeding. Shortly after the defendants would have been released. As stated and restated in legal circles, it is in part the lawyers’ work that enabled to isolate the Crocus City Hall attackers that are tried on terror charges.

Cases of malfunctioning of the legal system are not extinct. As described by legal professionals, cases when you are sent in over your head. Questionings are not always held in presence of a lawyer even when such representative is available, confessions are reached under coercion of torture, therefore death rows and cut off ears in mind, attendance to legal duties should be in accordance with established legal practices of the government. Unfortunately, not all accused, including those on terrorism charges are actually guilty.

In part of legal concerns and arrested in relation with terrorist act in Crocus City Hall are concerns of terrorism financing. Financing of terrorism is considered a serious crime and is punishable by law in most countries of the world. Simultaneously the entirety of dynamism and changeability of the world excludes the very possibility of foreseeing all the consequences of certain socio-historical processes. Utilitarianism does not seem to contribute to support of the social system that would uphold the protective process and human rights. While the question of human nature has not been solved, the most common understanding is that the ugly of the human interaction with this world is the outcome of social problems. Political equality makes way to creation of equal conditions of choice and serves as foundation for freedom to flourish, while freedom is elusive until every member of society attains equal access to the whole variety of life chances. Capitalist notions have been seen to collapse due to their inability to uphold the principles of justice necessary for enablement of social wellbeing. Therefore, while the socio-historical processes can be dynamic, changeable and furthermore rational and irrational, the lack of alignment of understanding of political equality with the people is a certain stumbling block and reliable direction setter for positive attitudes toward social integration.

Approaches to the ongoing since the 1990s migration experience, noted to have been a long-anticipated question in Russian Federation that seen its decisive address after the grim events of the Crocus City Hall. As every country, Russian Federation has its own peculiar migration problematic. Russia’s story begins as migration of the post-Soviet period. That means migrants from former Soviet Union member states such as Tajikistan, however, can also encompass wave of intake from Afghanistan and interest toward Russia from Asia. Asia’s migration varied from guests, commercial and diplomatic participants to history of extension of criminal groups into the post-Soviet Russia’s opening markets.

Migrants pose range of social dilemmas and attitudes arising from encounters with the diverse guests, news disclosure of alarming heinous crimes and behaviours of those working visitors, as well as conflicts during attempts to accompany education of children introduced to the Russia’s school curriculum adding to overall issues and violence in schools that leaves some teachers fearing for their security. As much as children do need to be supported and not always accommodated by schools to the needed extent, contemporary school violence in an overlap with migration posed additional perplexity for Russia’s society as a whole.

Cases such as the case of Shahin Abbasov who became suspected and accused of murder of a 24 year old motorcyclist Kirill Kovalev on a parking lot in Lublin district in Moscow, sentencing of taxi driver Hurshed Abdurahmonov to a life sentence on charges of pedophilia under pretence of eagerness to help parents take their kids to recreational sessions and other extracurricular activities, as well as other instances of violent and abusive, explicitly criminal behaviour. On 24 March 2024, on the day of mourning for the Crocus City Hall victims, a group of migrants been spotted running across Transbaikal armed with weapons that fortunately were toy guns, however, were aimed at intentionally scaring the public and were convincing enough to leave the public terrified and further concerned. What was explained as a prank, hardly remained seen as such and been interpreted as hooliganism under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In Tuva Republic, a 9 year old child was detained for calls to commit a terrorist act. The child became registered with the local police and an administrative protocol been formulated in relation to the mother of the child for the failure to fulfill responsibility of care and upbringing of the minor. The social turmoil became seen as further absorbed into Russian society, however, cases of flower laying at the Crocus City Hall memorial asides for overall public also included Mamurhon Alimov who laid flowers on behalf of himself and Tajikistan people to express solidarity in mourning and disagreement with acts of terror and violence.

The future of the accused, detained and arrested on terrorism charges means severe isolation and consistent oversight confined to a specialised penal facility for the rest of their lives. Following the detainment, the accused in connection to attack on the Crocus City Hall are to await hearing, finalisation of charges and sentencing in a high security detention center. After the trial the Crocus City Hall attackers are expected to serve their life sentences in one of specialised prisons for prisoners sentenced on charges of terrorism such as the Black Dolphin, Polar Owl, Mordovian Zone, White Swan or Snowflake. All are known for their inaccessibility to the outside world and the areas of residence to which the sentenced to life in prison are confined, considered a prison within a prison.

The evening at Crocus City Hall is noted to remind some of events of the Nord-Ost times. “Terrorism is the most horrible crime; it does not know the limits of time. Crime against society.”, expresses one of Russian members of legal profession. Continuing, “Back then, during Nord-Ost and Beslan, family and togetherness gave strength to live, believe, remain human and do what you have to do. Today we must be together and do what we have to do.” Resound are reminders of the integral spirit of humanity that is essential for the preservation of own humanity in the shadows of cruelty and acts of extreme violence.

All law enforcement and security services significantly contributed to the capture of Crocus City Hall attackers and all suspected in enablement of this terrorist act. Simultaneously, the State Duma discussed return of death penalty. While remarks of diverting the court proceedings into Belarus where the death penalty is permitted did sound, the only actual way to return the death penalty would be to formulate and accept new Constitution. Jurists concluded that based on the current Criminal Code of the Russian Federation the death penalty cannot be applied toward the accused in connection to the attack on Crocus City Hall. President of Federal Chamber of Advocates of Russian Federation – Svetlana Volodina further remarked that should there be at least 1% chance of judicial error, that do happen in all countries, the idea of death penalty is senseless. Simultaneously it is important to remember that death penalty will not bring back those murdered and will not prevent terrorist acts.

Statistical portrayals estimate that in Russia registered and unregistered migrants account for perhaps more than around 16.5 million people and that can be seen as a staggering number. While it is expressed that no one is against migrants and that workers are needed, the accent should lay on highly skilled and qualified candidates. In some regions of the Russian Federation migrants are forbidden to work in taxis, buses and other means of public transit; production of food and beverages; production of such particular items as baby food, dietary food, bread or confectionery; sale of food and beverages, alcohol and tobacco; education; human resources; hotels.

The tragedy of Crocus City Hall brings to forefront other socio-economic concerns. Approximately 100,000 tickets to attend mass gatherings were returned by the Russia’s public after the terror attack on Crocus City Hall. Stories of victims laid deep and raised concerns, such as the passing of the two sisters who died during the attack on the Crocus City Hall after surviving a terror attack in Volgodonsk in 1999. Back then a truck exploded near their building. It blew out the windows and left entire family wounded. It is 25 years later that one of the sisters came from Rostov Oblast to visit her younger sister who resided in Mytishchi. Together they went to the Piknik concert held at Crocus City Hall. They were noted to contact their mother at 20:30 and let her know that the building was burning. “We are suffocating. Mother, forgive us!”, are mentioned to be their last words shouted into the phone that evening. Someone remembers, “I seen absolutely helpless security.” It has been a long looming discussion for the State Duma, the consideration for arming security in the malls, for example, is a serious one, however would in practice require tremendous resources.

People return tickets not only because the mourning ceremony prompted to reschedule numerous events and the new date posed inconvenience, but because of fear that disseminates as a consequence of terror acts. Ministry of Culture asked the organisers to accommodate the audience and to accept ticket returns even without any documents to justify such request.

Moreover, introduced became a whole range of legislation including about an obligation of owners to insure malls and pay out compensations in emergency situations, or consideration of responsibility for security measures to be upheld by venue and by event organiser itself.

The investigation of the Crocus City Hall attack became headed by the department for investigation of war crimes, genocide and rehabilitation of Nazism within the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. First deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs – Vladimir Dzhabarov noted that while, the terror act was executed indeed by Islamic terrorists such as also been observed in military efforts of Ukrainian army and ISIS did make claims of responsibility for the attack, the suspicions of payout promises from across Russia-Ukraine border and the Crocus City Hall attackers’ heading for safety in that direction raised additional concerns and investigation into  the terrorist act and its organisers. Overall Muslims have been noticed fighting on both sides in Russia-Ukraine conflict with Ukrainian Muslims and Muslim foreign fighters confirmed to have presence in Ukraine military efforts.

Legal instructions, consultations and help with necessitated procedures became promptly extended to those needing assistance in the aftermath of the violent events that unfolded at Crocus City Hall on 22 March 2024 near Moscow. Legal assistance was made available and realised by means of “Lawyers to citizens” project of the Russian legal community represented by Federal Chamber of Advocates of Russian Federation, lawyers’ self-regulatory body in Russia. Terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall pertains to contemporary discussions of migration, but moreover of social wellbeing and governance.