>> From: "Grant Lee" <grantlee at iinet.net.au>
What the hell? Jews in Russia have most emphatically not suffered after democratic rule arrived. This is probably the best time to be Jewish in Russia in history. Yes, for the moment anyway. That bit slipped past me. I'm not sure whether it was from Michael or he was quoting someone. Michael?
'Twas the Business Week review of the Amy Chua book.
http://www.rferl.org/ucs/2000/10/24-261000.html
JOURNALIST CENSURED FOR WRITING ABOUT ANTI-SEMITISM. RFE/RL's Russian Service reported on 10 October that an editor for "Vecherni Ryazan" has been threatened with dismissal for publishing an article about the 17 September attack by some 15 youths on a Jewish Sunday School. Viktor Petrenko's article appeared in "Priokskaya gazeta" 10 days after the attack; during that period, the local press had refrained from reporting on the incident. Petrenko was informed that his decision to publish his article, which examined the growth of anti-Semitism in the region, warranted his dismissal. While the journalist has not yet been given notice, his articles have been subject to censorship by the chief editor of "Vechernii Ryazan." RFE/RL's Russian Service notes that "Vechernii Ryazan" is supporting the candidacy of Valerii Ryumin, a former mayor of Ryazan and a well-know anti-Semite, in the 3 December gubernatorial ballot. ("RFE/RL Russian Federation Report," 18 October)
This is G o o g l e's cache of http://www.jewishmadison.org/MonthlyReporter/2001/Mar/russia.htm. Ryazan
On September 17, a group of thugs broke into a Jewish Sunday school in Ryazan, smashing windows and furniture, and shouting fascist slogans and death threats at the 25 children and teachers. They later intimidated the school's principal into revoking the Jewish community's right to a classroom. Local authorities promised immediate action to identify the perpetrators of the attack, though one official dismissed the incidents as acts of 'hooliganism' and therefore not worthy of further investigation.
On September 25, Ryazan police identified 4 of the 15 people allegedly involved in the attack, but made no arrests, deeming the youths only a minor threat to society. The U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation, James Collins, sponsored a roundtable discussion of the events in Ryazan in October, however the Russian government made no moves of its own to address the Ryazan incidents. In December, reports on the gubernatorial race in Ryazan cited the wide use of anti-Semitic slogans by some local candidates. Former Ryazan Mayor Valerii Ryumin is allegedly running the anti-Semitic campaign and has refused to classify the Sunday school attack as a criminal act.
Kursk
On October 21, the Kursk regional government barred incumbent Governor Aleksandr Rutskoi from running for re-election, charging him with election campaign law violations and abuse of his office as governor. The ruling came one day before gubernatorial elections, and was based upon complaints filed by two other candidates in the race. Incoming Governor Alexandr Mikhailov stated on November 9 that his victory was a sign that he, with the support of Putin, should now begin the work of eliminating the Jewish 'filth' that has accumulated in Russia since independence (Rutskoi's mother is Jewish). The presidential representative to the Central Federal District met with Mikhailov, and shortly afterwards (November 16) Mikhailov apologized to Rutskoi. Putin himself has not responded to Mikhailov's claims.
A few days later, the head of the Kursk Jewish community reported that a group of people banged on the windows and blockaded the door of the Jewish community center, shouting "We are Mikhailov's supporters!" On November 21, former Deputy Governor Sergei Maksachev (who had served under Rutskoi) was attacked and severely beaten by a man claiming to be Mikhailov's deputy governor and uttering many anti-Semitic remarks (Maksachev's father is Jewish).
To his credit, President Putin's reaction to the last incident was immediate: He asked federal Prosecutor-General Vladimir Ustinov to lead the investigation into the incident. Later on November 21, Vasily Oleynikov, Maksachev's alleged attacker, was arrested. On November 28, the Duma drafted a request to President Putin for a deeper investigation into the Kursk incidents and suspension of Governor Mikhailov pending the probe.
Some Jewish groups have since accused the Kremlin of inaction on the Kursk case and on other recent cases of anti-Semitism. However, the Duma has voted against debating the latest wave of incidents, including frequent anti-Semitic comments by regional officials such as former Krasnodar Governor Nikolai Kondratenko. The U.S. State Department issued a statement on October 3 noting "apparent Kremlin support for the re-election of Krasnodar Governor Nikolai Kondratenko, who has repeatedly made anti- Semitic statements." The statement also expressed deep concern at "recent anti-Semitic remarks published in the Russian press in recent weeks by the general director of the Analytical Information Agency of the Presidential Administration Aleksandr Ignatov."
Goussinsky
The recent detention and current house arrest of Vladimir Goussinsky in Spain also alarmed Jewish and human rights groups both in Russia and abroad. The government's campaign against Goussinsky is notable for anti- Semitic attacks in government-controlled media, an illegal search of the Moscow Choral Synagogue, and the Kremlin's widely perceived use of inter- organizational rivalries to undermine Goussinsky's leadership of the Russian Jewish Congress.
The Russian Prosecutor-General is charging Goussinsky with fraud in deals made with energy giant Gazprom. Goussinsky, owner of the Media-MOST empire and founder of the independent NTV television network, argues that the arrest is an attempt by Putin to silence media opposition. The Kremlin is pressing for Goussinsky's extradition and for the confiscation of Goussinsky's domestic and international assets. Gazprom has dropped its own lawsuit against Media-MOST and a Moscow court dismissed the fraud case on December 27, though Russian prosecutors successfully appealed that decision in a higher court.
In June 2000, Goussinsky was arrested in Moscow and held for three days, amid attacks in government-owned media against his Jewish community involvement. On October 20, Interior Ministry officials raided Moscow's Choral Synagogue, searching for information on the synagogue's financial connections to Media-MOST. The raid occurred during the Jewish holiday week of Sukkot, when many of the community's leaders were away from Moscow. Police also confiscated the weapons of the synagogue's guards, for unspecified reasons.
Conclusion
While anti-Semitism is not a new development in Russia, recent events such as those in Kursk indicate that the Russian government can do more to counteract such attacks. President Putin has not demonstrated a clear link between his own overtures to the Russian Jewish community and efforts to investigate and punish acts of anti-Semitism. The extent to which Putin and his government are willing to protect the rights of Jews is therefore ambiguous.
The history of Jews in Russia is such that treatment of this ancient minority should serve to test the prospects for pluralistic democracy at large. President Putin's public overtures to the Jewish community should be evaluated relative to other priorities: official willingness to address anti-Semitism and the extent to which authorities are willing to intimidate or interfere with the Russian Jewish community. Ex-Klansman David Duke appears to have made just such an evaluation in choosing Russia as an export market for his brand of racist publications and politicking.
The progress of the 1990s has not banished the legacy of xenophobia and anti-Semitism. The new decade presents a vital opportunity to turn gestures into permanent priorities. The future of Russian Jewry - and of Russian civil society - will depend largely upon the result of those efforts.
CHECHNYA'S DUMA DEPUTY ACCUSES RUSSIAN MILITARY OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS. Echoing numerous western journalists' findings, Aslanbek Aslakhanov told fellow State Duma deputies on 19 October that the Russian military in Chechnya engages in the arbitrary detention, beating, and torture of Chechen civilians, 10,000 of whom he claimed have vanished without trace, Interfax reported. Aslakhanov said that military representatives routinely deny charges that they engage in such practices. He called on the Russian leadership to halt the "genocide" of the Chechen people and intervene to restore order in the republic. Aslakhanov also charged that the Russian military are obstructing the restoration of the judicial system in Chechnya. Meanwhile in Grozny, the city's newly appointed mayor, Beslan Gantemirov, has announced unspecified measures to stabilize the situation in the city, according to AP. ("RFE/RL Newsline," 20 October)