GETTY Russia’s Security Council is now considering the idea

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Under the plans, jihadi inmates would be separated from the general prison population amid fears fanatics are indoctrinating youngsters who are only behind bars for relatively minor crimes. British authorities have struggled with the same problem, which has turned a number of now-infamous jails into de facto terrorist recruitment centres. Russia's Security Council is now considering the idea of a separate network of terror prisons, which was first floated by officials late last year.

It follows a raft of tough measures aimed at stifling unrest and installing harsh punishments on those convicted of terrorism-related offences under Putin's iron-fist leadership. One of the bills being considered by the Russian parliament is the crime of international terrorism, which would carry a life prison term and see Russians of dual nationalities stripped of their Russian citizenship. Russian authorities argue the latest proposal will address the prisons crisis.

Vladmir Putin in Siberia Wed, August 5, 2009 Play slideshow 1 of 15 Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin takes a dip in the lake

They say the institutions are fast becoming hotbeds for extremism, with convicts from the former Soviet bloc most vulnerable to radicalisation. Thousands of Russians have travelled to the Middle East to join Islamic State operations. Last year, around 150 people were jailed for waging war abroad, with many young jihadis returning home after a stint fighting with ISIS.

In January, an expert in Russian affairs warned that the war in Syria, state oppression of religious minorities and high youth unemployment had combined to create the "perfect" conditions for radicalisation. Igor Sutyagin, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, blamed the Russian government for "providing the excuse and reason for people to get radicalised".

GETTY One of the bills being considered by the Russian parliament is the crime of international terrorism

GETTY Thousands of Russians have travelled to the Middle East to join Islamic State operations

GETTY Last year, around 150 people were jailed for waging war abroad

Russia's North Caucasus region is a hotbed of Islamic extremism and has sent hundreds - if not thousands - of Islamist fighters to warzones in Syria and Iraq. He said an unemployment rate of more than 80 per cent amongst young people in the region - which border Georgia and Azerbaijan - was leading to "terrorist activity".