Pioneers of the 1st Foreign Legion regiment carry their axes as they march during the traditional Bastille Day parade on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, July 14, 2014. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Pioneers of the 1st Foreign Legion regiment carry their axes as they march during the traditional Bastille Day parade on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, July 14, 2014. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

Russia has been reported to be seriously considering employing foreign mercenaries to counter the potential threat of ISIS in the country as well as the in the entire Central Asia. In a report by local newspaper Izvestia, it was MP Roman Khudyakov, a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker, who proposed the creation of a military unit manned exclusively by foreigners, similar to France's foreign legion. He said the threats posed by the blood-hungry ISIS against Russia were very real and that the country should very well prepare for a potential strikes. But Khudyakov doesn't want Russian troops to be directly participating in it.

In September, a group of ISIS fighters, in a video obtained by the Israel National News, issued a direct threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Apart from vowing to oust the leader, the fighters also said they will "liberate" the volatile North Caucasus because Mr Putin supported the Syrian regime of President Bashar Hafez al-Assad. Several antiquated Soviet-made Sukhoi planes were also shown in the video, believed to have been captured by the radical Islamists from a key base in Tabqa in northern Syria.

Just last week, members of a so-called "Grand Theft Auto" gang had terrorised Moscow. Their presence, believed to be Central Asian migrant workers, is being related to the ISIS. Russia fears the former Soviet Central Asian republics could become a hotbed of ISIS recruitment and radicalisation.

Khudyakov told the Russian government that the model of the French Foreign Legion could be followed when the country forms its own thing. He said Tajiks and Uzbeks could lead the Russian foreign legion, along with commanders and instructors. He said Tajikistan is actually doing it because "all their cadets are studying in Russian military schools." The French Foreign Legion is composed of soldiers from 136 countries.

Khudyakov proposed a Russian legionnaire's salary will be equivalent to that of a Russian serviceman. Moreover, after six years of service, the person can apply for Russian citizenship. Nationals from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are highly expected to apply for this scheme.

"A war is going on and it's as if the government has nothing to do with it. In these conditions we need to act more cruelly, by their rules. The units of this legion could be sent to help Novorossiya," portal eurasianet.org quoted Khudyakov.