Chris Doss The Russia Journal ----------------------------
Moscow markets closed, stadium ringed by police amid fears of ethnic violence
MOSCOW (AP) - Outdoor markets and kiosks across Russia's capital run by ethnic minorities were closed and thousands of police ringed a Moscow soccer stadium Sunday to thwart possible racially motivated violence.
Police nationwide have been on alert all weekend amid fears of skinhead attacks around Hitler's birthday Saturday, and amid heightened activity by Russia's small ultranationalist minority. The police alert was to last through Monday.
An Afghan interpreter was beaten to death by skinheads last week, and several embassies in Moscow - including that of the United States - have received threats of violence recently. The U.N. refugee agency has reported increased numbers of racist attacks in Russia in recent months, and appealed for police action.
No neo-Nazi violence was reported Saturday or by Sunday evening, though three attackers beat a British diplomat on Moscow's central Arbat street overnight.
Police said it was unclear whether David Arkley, a third secretary at the British Embassy, was targeted because he was a foreigner. The British Embassy, which was not among those to receive threats, would not comment on the attack.
Several outdoor produce and consumer goods markets and kiosks in Moscow that normally do brisk business on weekends were closed Sunday.
Dark-skinned people from ex-Soviet republics in the Caucasus Mountains region and Central Asia often work as vendors or managers at the capital's markets, and a year ago Sunday skinheads caused heavy damage by rampaging through one of them.
About 3,500 police surrounded the Luzhniki stadium on Sunday evening to brace for violence connected to a Premier League soccer match between Moscow's Spartak and CSKA. Soccer hooliganism in Russia often translates into racist violence.
CSKA won 3-0 and the match appeared to end peacefully.
Also Sunday, Russian officials opened an international media conference by urging journalists to help fight terrorism by helping to turn people against extremism and violence.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke out forcefully against racially-motivated crime in his state of the nation address on Thursday.