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'''[[Racism]] in [[Russia]]''' appears in the form of negative attitudes and actions towards people who are not considered ethinically [[Russians|Russian]]. This includes [[antisemitism]] and a general demeaning attitude to [[northern indigenous peoples of Russia]] as well as hostility towards various [[Caucasian]]/[[Central Asia]]n ethnicities (whether of Orthodox Christian or Muslim faith).
'''[[Racism]] in [[Russia]]''' appears in the form of negative attitudes and actions towards people who are not considered ethinically [[Russians|Russian]]. This includes [[antisemitism]] and a general demeaning attitude to [[northern indigenous peoples of Russia]] as well as hostility towards various [[Caucasian]]/[[Central Asia]]n ethnicities (whether of Orthodox Christian or Muslim faith).


In [[May 2006]] [[Amnesty International]] reported racist killings in Russia were "out of control" and that at least 28 people were [[killed]] in [[2005]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4755163.stm BBC NEWS | Europe | Putin faces up to racist scourge<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In [[2006]] Amnesty International registered 252 victims of racist crimes, of which 21 died. In [[February 2007]], President [[Vladimir Putin]] asked the [[Federal Security Service]] to combat racism.<ref>[http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2007/02/01/012.html FSB Told to Stop Political Extremism<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Nevertheless hatecrimes still increased. In [[2007]] From [[January 1]] till [[31 July]] Amnesty International registered 310 victims of [[neo-Nazi]] and racist crimes, of which 37 deaths. They criticize Russian police for not doing enough to combat racist crimes, often ignoring reports of threats and crimes from civilians.<ref>[http://www.amnesty.nl/bibliotheek_vervolg/rusland_racistischgeweld RACISME IN RUSLAND]</ref>
In [[May 2006]] [[Amnesty International]] reported racist killings in Russia were "out of control" and that at least 28 people were [[killed]] in [[2005]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4755163.stm BBC NEWS | Europe | Putin faces up to racist scourge<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In [[2006]] Amnesty International registered 252 victims of racist crimes, of which 21 died. In [[February 2007]], President [[Vladimir Putin]] asked the [[Federal Security Service]] to combat racism.<ref>[http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2007/02/01/012.html FSB Told to Stop Political Extremism<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Nevertheless hatecrimes still increased. In [[2007]] From [[January 1]] till [[31 July]] Amnesty International registered 310 victims of [[neo-Nazi]] and racist crimes, of which 37 deaths. They criticize Russian police for not doing enough to combat racist crimes, often ignoring reports of threats and crimes from civilians.<ref>[http://www.amnesty.nl/bibliotheek_vervolg/rusland_racistischgeweld RACISME IN RUSLAND]</ref> According to the Moscow Human Rights Bureau, from January through March, 49 people have been killed in assaults by radical nationalists, 28 of them in the greater Moscow area.<ref name=wp />


According to Semyon Charny of the Moscow Human Rights Bureau, there are an estimated 70,000 [[skinheads]] in Russia.<ref>Peter Finn. ''[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/07/AR2008040702718.html?hpid=topnews Moscow Killings Blamed on Racism]''. [[Washington Post]]. April 8, 2008.</ref>
According to Semyon Charny of the Moscow Human Rights Bureau, there are an estimated 70,000 [[skinheads]] in Russia,<ref name=wp>Peter Finn. ''[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/07/AR2008040702718.html?hpid=topnews Moscow Killings Blamed on Racism]''. [[Washington Post]]. April 8, 2008.</ref> and surveys show that [[xenophobia]] and other racist expressions affect 50 percent of Russians.<ref>''[http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7B1C1E82BE-F7B1-4786-9D7E-0CC05B8E9327%7D&language=EN Russians Concerned about Xenophobia and Racism]'' Latin American News Agency.</ref>


===Hostility towards Caucasians/Muslims===
===Hostility towards Caucasians/Muslims===
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===Antisemitism in Russia===
===Antisemitism in Russia===


According to Prof. Daniel Rancour-Laferriere "Russians seem inclined to hate the Jews more intensely than (they hate any) other ethnic minorities in Russia"<ref>Daniel Rancour-Laferriere. Imagining Russia: Ethnic identity and the nationalist mind. [http://www.panorama.ru/works/patr/ir/18.html Chapter 18. Some Surface Features of Ethnic Hatred in Russia.]</ref> This hostility has been deep-rooted in Russia's history, as numbers of Jews fled the largely anti-Semitic Russia during the [[Zionist movement]] in the late 19th century. Especially notable were the Czar-sponsered pogroms - violent attempts to rid Russia of its Jewish population - in which families were slaughtered and villages burned.
According to Prof. Daniel Rancour-Laferriere "Russians seem inclined to hate the Jews more intensely than (they hate any) other ethnic minorities in Russia"<ref>Daniel Rancour-Laferriere. Imagining Russia: Ethnic identity and the nationalist mind. [http://www.panorama.ru/works/patr/ir/18.html Chapter 18. Some Surface Features of Ethnic Hatred in Russia.]</ref> This hostility has been deep-rooted in Russia's history, as numbers of Jews fled the largely anti-Semitic Russia during the [[Zionist movement]] in the late 19th century. Especially notable were the Czar-sponsered pogroms - violent attempts to rid Russia of its Jewish population - in which families were slaughtered and villages burned. Allegation of the [[blood libel]] still occur in modern Russia, including posters in [[Novosibirsk]], Russias third largest city, reading: "''These vermin [the Jews] are still performing rituals, stealing small children and draining their blood to make their sacred bread,''"<ref>Stan Goodenough. '''Old-style' antisemitism alive and well in Russia''. Jerusalem Newswire.</ref> The Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia recently expressed their concern about a rising number of attacks targeting Jews, calling it part of "a recent surge in anti-Semitic manifestations" in Russia.<ref>Anshel Pfeffer. ''In Russia's third largest city, the blood libel is resurfacing''. Haaretz.</ref>

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Revision as of 16:44, 10 April 2008

File:Russiannenazis.jpg
Members of Russian National Unity group in a street parade

Racism in Russia appears in the form of negative attitudes and actions towards people who are not considered ethinically Russian. This includes antisemitism and a general demeaning attitude to northern indigenous peoples of Russia as well as hostility towards various Caucasian/Central Asian ethnicities (whether of Orthodox Christian or Muslim faith).

In May 2006 Amnesty International reported racist killings in Russia were "out of control" and that at least 28 people were killed in 2005.[1] In 2006 Amnesty International registered 252 victims of racist crimes, of which 21 died. In February 2007, President Vladimir Putin asked the Federal Security Service to combat racism.[2] Nevertheless hatecrimes still increased. In 2007 From January 1 till 31 July Amnesty International registered 310 victims of neo-Nazi and racist crimes, of which 37 deaths. They criticize Russian police for not doing enough to combat racist crimes, often ignoring reports of threats and crimes from civilians.[3] According to the Moscow Human Rights Bureau, from January through March, 49 people have been killed in assaults by radical nationalists, 28 of them in the greater Moscow area.[4]

According to Semyon Charny of the Moscow Human Rights Bureau, there are an estimated 70,000 skinheads in Russia,[4] and surveys show that xenophobia and other racist expressions affect 50 percent of Russians.[5]

Hostility towards Caucasians/Muslims

Caucasophobia is a neologism, introduced in the Russian and Caucasian media (as Кавказофобия). The term denotes hostility in Russia towards peoples of the Caucasus, especially non-Slavic or Muslim ethnicities of the Caucasus and ethnic Caucasian migrants in Russia.[citation needed] In Russia, the term Caucasian is a collective term which refers to anyone descended from the native ethnicities of the Caucasus. In Russian slang, Caucasian people and Central Asians fall into the category of black. This is not necessarily associated with skin colour, but rather the color of hair and their non-Slavic facial appearance — since most North Caucasians and Russians have the same skin colour (although South Caucasians mostly have darker skin).[6] Members of these ethnicities are often depicted as dangerous savages who are a threat to public safety.

Several pogroms, directed particularly against Caucasian merchants and migrants have been reported in the Russian capital, Moscow, and in other Russian cities.[citation needed] There was a pogrom on April 21, 2001 in Yasenevo Market in Moscow against merchants from the Caucasus, and well-organised attacks on Caucasian businesses and migrants in the eastern Russian town Ekaterinburg on September 9 2004.[citation needed] Racially motivated attacks against Armenians have grown so common that the president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, raised the issue with high-ranking Russian officials.[7] Following the Russian-Georgian crisis of September and October 2006, Russian authorities have rounded up Georgians and demanded that schools draw up lists of pupils with Georgian last names. The authorities have also taken other actions that have led protesters in Moscow to draw a parallel between modern Russian initiatives with Nazi Germany's initiatives to round up Jews.[8]

Hostility towards Central Asians/Muslims

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the rise of the Muslim population in Russia and the recently ongoing Chechen war, many Russians (including authorities) have associated Islam and Muslims with terrorism and domestic crimes.[9][10][11][12] In August 2007 a video of 2 alleged neo-Nazis beheading two Muslim men, one from Dagestan in the Caucasus and one from Tajikistan appeared on the internet.[13] In February 2004, a nine-year old Tajik girl was stabbed to death in Saint Petersburg by suspected far-right skinheads.[14][15] Despite overwhelming evidence against them, the suspects were acquitted of murder charges by a jury which consisted entirely of ethnic Russians.

Antisemitism in Russia

According to Prof. Daniel Rancour-Laferriere "Russians seem inclined to hate the Jews more intensely than (they hate any) other ethnic minorities in Russia"[16] This hostility has been deep-rooted in Russia's history, as numbers of Jews fled the largely anti-Semitic Russia during the Zionist movement in the late 19th century. Especially notable were the Czar-sponsered pogroms - violent attempts to rid Russia of its Jewish population - in which families were slaughtered and villages burned. Allegation of the blood libel still occur in modern Russia, including posters in Novosibirsk, Russias third largest city, reading: "These vermin [the Jews] are still performing rituals, stealing small children and draining their blood to make their sacred bread,"[17] The Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia recently expressed their concern about a rising number of attacks targeting Jews, calling it part of "a recent surge in anti-Semitic manifestations" in Russia.[18]


Hostility towards Chinese

Russian attitudes towards the People's Republic of China have focused on the fear of Russia (especially the Russian Far East and Siberia) being overwhelmed by Chinese, because of China's much larger population.[19] It is also noted that there is illegal immigration coming from China into Southeastern Russia, especially after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.[20]

Hostility towards Africans

Many black students feel unsafe in Russia. In Saint Petersburg, three Africans have been killed in suspected race attacks since September 2005. "Monkey" insults and non-lethal assaults are so frequent that students have ceased reporting them[21][22].

Negative attitude towards Africans traces back to the days of the Soviet Union, in spite of its internationalist propaganda and its "fight for peace in the whole world" (a Russian political cliché, based on a wordplay, both "peace" and "world" translating as "mir" in Russian). As a part of its support of decolonisation in Africa, the Soviet Union offered free education for citizens of African states. African students (as well as other foreign students) were placed in many higher education institutions throughout the country, most famously at Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, then known as the Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University, after the Congolese revolutionary and prime minister Patrice Lumumba.

Footnotes

  1. ^ BBC NEWS | Europe | Putin faces up to racist scourge
  2. ^ FSB Told to Stop Political Extremism
  3. ^ RACISME IN RUSLAND
  4. ^ a b Peter Finn. Moscow Killings Blamed on Racism. Washington Post. April 8, 2008.
  5. ^ Russians Concerned about Xenophobia and Racism Latin American News Agency.
  6. ^ Daniel Rancour-Laferriere. Imagining Russia: Ethnic identity and the nationalist mind. Chapter 19. Assimilationism and Ethnic Hostility.
  7. ^ Yerevan Pressing For Tougher Action Against Anti-Armenian Racism In Russia - Eurasia Daily Monitor
  8. ^ [1] Russian Euronews report of Racism and Xenophobia in Russia
  9. ^ Islamophobia in Russia - Pravda.Ru
  10. ^ More Racism in Russia
  11. ^ http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?archive/rca/rca_200205_118_5_eng.txt
  12. ^ Mosnews.com
  13. ^ "Russian held over 'deaths' video". BBC News. 2007-08-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ BBC NEWS | Europe | Girl killed by Russia 'racists'
  15. ^ BBC NEWS | Europe | Racist attacks that stain Russia
  16. ^ Daniel Rancour-Laferriere. Imagining Russia: Ethnic identity and the nationalist mind. Chapter 18. Some Surface Features of Ethnic Hatred in Russia.
  17. '^ Stan Goodenough. Old-style' antisemitism alive and well in Russia. Jerusalem Newswire.
  18. ^ Anshel Pfeffer. In Russia's third largest city, the blood libel is resurfacing. Haaretz.
  19. ^ Russia in Global Affairs:Chinese Migration in Russia
  20. ^ Illegal immigration in Russia, Russian illegal immigration on RussiansAbroad.com
  21. ^ BBC NEWS | Europe | Living with race hate in Russia
  22. ^ BBC NEWS | Europe | Student murder in Russia 'racist'

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