MOSCOW, March 2 (RAPSI) – Over 1,000 cases connected with terrorist and extremist crimes were opened in 2016, head of Russia’s Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin announced on Thursday.

Last year, investigators launched 882 criminal cases over extremist offenses and 283 cases on crimes of terrorist nature, Bastrykin said during the enlarged meeting of the Committee’s panel.

Earlier in February, President Vladimir Putin said during the Federal Security Service’s (FSB) collegium that amount of terrorist crimes had dropped in Russia. According to the President, security agencies prevented 45 crimes of a terrorist nature in 2016.