by Nickolai Butkevich 25 March 2005
Russian media reports on the increasing number of hate crimes throughout the country generally aren’t kind to the police, prosecutors, and judges charged with combating the societal ills of racism and extremist violence. Much of this criticism is deserved, since law enforcement agencies in most Russian cities have for years ignored the problem of neo-Nazi violence, and there are good reasons to suspect that many of them sympathize with the skinheads’ views, if not their methods.
What these reports often ignore, however, is that over the past four years, Russian law enforcement agencies have slowly begun to crack down on extremist groups. Unfortunately, the positive nature of this trend (which includes commendable statements by President Vladimir Putin) is weakened by pockets of denial and racism within law enforcement agencies, and the clear fact that this long overdue crackdown, while necessary, does not seem to be working. Instead, it appears that years of official inaction have allowed xenophobia and hate groups to spread to such an extent that they may no longer be controllable.
Since the late Yeltsin period, the number of reported hate crimes has increased year by year, as have the membership of neo-Nazi skinhead groups, their geographical scope, and the viciousness of their crimes. The U.S .State Department’s most recent human rights report puts the number of skinheads in Russia at 50,000; Russian Interior Ministry figures put the number at 15,000-20,000. Given the informal structure and somewhat secretive nature of most Russian neo-Nazi groups, I am rather skeptical of the veracity of these figures. Suffice it to say that it is clear that the skinhead movement has grown at an explosive pace, and that it is no longer just a problem for residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg. I have read reports of skinhead activity taking place in dozens of cities, many far beyond the borders of the ethnic Russian heartland, including in the traditionally more tolerant regions of Siberia and the Far East.
Nu, zayats, pogodi!
__________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site! http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/resources/