The Washington Post won't print what I found by searching on the Kremlin's website in five minutes, so I might as well do it:
"VLADIMIR PUTIN: I met just yesterday with the governor of the Jewish Autonomous Region and he gave me some interesting information, saying that 51 people left the oblast last year and 104 returned. I won’t comment on that information, but it is a fact that does merit our attention.
As for our work together, we both know that Russian statehood has its roots right from the beginning in the coexistence of different confessions. This harmony that we have between our many ethnic groups and religions is more than just a longstanding tradition in Russia. It is more than just harmony – it is a symbiosis of the various nationalities, ethnic groups and religions that together make up what we call Russia, and this is our strength. This is why the authorities, the President and the government, will pay close and constant attention to the fight against anti-Semitism, against manifestations of any other extremist tendencies and any form of extremism and xenophobia, including chauvinism and anti-Russian sentiment. Of course, this will be effective only if we work together, trust each other and coordinate all our action."
http://www.kremlin.ru/eng/speeches/2005/03/03/2008_type82912type82913_84815.shtml
"But if we return to several serious, vital issues, then undoubtedly one of them today – and we must return to this issue again – is the manifestation of xenophobia. This is a signal of pain. It means that something is wrong here, that we make errors and mistakes in our work. And we must think and analyse the situation, and above all react harshly to it.
Undoubtedly, the politics of the state will be to prevent any manifestations of this kind, consistently and harshly. This is particularly important for Russia – a country with a diversity of ethnicities and religions.
For us, achieving inter-ethnic harmony in Russia is a fundamental condition for the country’s existence. But we also need to remember something else: we must create and learn to use modern and democratic, but strict laws that regulate various spheres of our activity, including the immigration sphere."
http://www.kremlin.ru/eng/speeches/2004/10/19/2105_type82912type82914_78296.shtml
"Fascism was defeated in 1945, but the roots from which it grew have not been entirely eradicated and still bear poisonous fruit here and there in our world.
The world is still not free of ideology that preaches extreme nationalism, religious fanaticism and the idea of world domination. There are still people who look for new fuhrers, who feed off others’ misfortunes and promise simple solutions to complex and tangled problems. These are people willing to do anything to achieve their aims, willing to lay aside morals and principles and pursue their aims even at the cost of blood and human lives. The crimes of the Nazis and their defeat are the greatest warning to all those who seek to drive out people of other ethnicities or religious faith, those who blame them for their own mistakes and use them as scapegoats to justify their problems and misfortunes. Xenophobia and intolerance of others inevitably grow into dictatorship and terror against one’s own people. This is an axiom – an axiom that every civilised person should know and remember."
http://www.kremlin.ru/eng/text/speeches/2001/06/22/1619_type82912_85155.shtml
"One of the factors that makes our country uncomfortable, unfortunately, for our citizens, and inhospitable for foreigners, is crime. The law-enforcement bodies should direct their efforts to protecting citizens’ rights, to fighting rackets, administrative abuse and corruption. They should protect the rights of owners and manufacturers.
The growth of extremism is a serious threat to stability and public safety in this country. This primarily concerns those who adopt fascist and nationalist slogans and symbols, and carry out pogroms, beating and killing people.
At the same time, the police and prosecutor’s office often do not have sufficiently effective tools for charging the organizers and inspirers of these crimes. In many cases only those immediately responsible go to court. In fact, bands of extremists act like organized criminal groups and should be prosecuted in a similar way. A draft law will soon be submitted to the State Duma concerning the war on extremism."
http://www.kremlin.ru/eng/text/speeches/2002/04/18/0000_type70029type82912_70662.shtml
Etc. etc. etc. etc. He mentions this in every goddamn speech. How can anybody claiming to follow the country not know this? It boggles the mind. Vot, nevozmozhno predstavit, kak oni vpolne idioty! Golove khochetsya vzryvatsya ot shoka! Vot eto tak.
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