New Data on Russia Race Attacks
The BBC has a story detailing new data revealed by a human rights group on race attacks in Russia. As detailed in the local press and many blogs here, Armenians have fallen victim to such attacks although so too have other minorities from the Caucasus. Indeed, according to some sources, Russian ultra-nationalists do not differentiate between Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgian and Chechen which is kind of ironic given the ethnic tensions here.
Sova says 38 people have been murdered in racist killings so far this year, and well over 300 people have been injured, mainly in stabbings.
According to its figures, the most common victims of racist killings are from the Caucasus and Central Asia.
It also warns that Russia’s skinheads have begun targeting other minorities, including homosexuals.
Sova says that Moscow, St Petersburg and Russia’s fourth city - Nizhniy Novgorod - are the leaders in racist attacks.
It says 24 people have died in Moscow alone this year as a result of racially motivated killings by what it terms “skinheads”.
The word “skinhead” in Russia implies something much more than appearance.
It is the generic term given to the country’s ultra-right activists, who continue to form organisations and carry out attacks with what anti-racism groups say is impunity.
Sova estimates there are more than 60,000 skinheads in Russia.
It says its figures suggest the toll of racist attacks is increasing, but prosecutors remain reluctant to attribute racial motivation to killings of ethnic minorities.
Instead, they often put them down to simple “hooliganism”.
Campaigners say this is because the authorities have traditionally turned a blind eye to racist killings, and used nationalism as a political weapon.
Furthermore, a substantial proportion of ordinary Russians voice opinions that would be criminally racist in many European countries.
The full article is here, and all of this is just one reason why many of us are concerned by the appearance of neo-Nazi slogans and emblems here. Yes, Armenia and some other CIS republics are simply years behind in following similar trends in Russia, but we can definitely do without this one, I think.
Onnik said: Yes, Armenia and some other CIS republics are simply years behind in following similar trends in Russia, but we can definitely do without this one, I think.
Meanwhile in Philadelphia, we are going for the record:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18278063/
Go Philly!
Liberal humanism? Get used to murdered people. Thank you very much for coming and have a nice day.
Comment by Armen Filadelfiatsi — September 5, 2007 @ 8:33 am
I was just curious; does the Russian figure include the casualities of on-going Chechen conflict?
Comment by Eso — September 5, 2007 @ 6:02 pm
I’m not an expert on Washington, DC, but from what I know the city is a case of extremely rich, powerful people on one side of the tracks and extremely poor people on the other, a rather common pattern in the US. The Republicans like it like that because to them it means bathroom entertainment after a hard nights work disemboweling the middle class, as recent events suggest. And Marion Barry likes it like that, too, because it means he can smoke crack and govern high…and get re-elected.
Which is to say that DC serves rather fittingly as a microcosm of America today, and it does that quite explicitly, what with the indigent dropping dead next to the capitol and being all but thrown into the garbage truck when it rolls around in the morning. DC can continue to be the sewer that it is because people haven’t gotten around to being disgusted by it, and for the same reason that, say, back in 30,000 BCE, looking for nuggets of goodness in one’s alimentary canal with one’s finger while huddled around the campfire with the family was probably not considered very unusual: it takes a while for us upright apes to develop a sense about what’s right and what’s repulsive.
This clip from the article you put up is directly related: after the collapse of the ussr there was an unprecedented surge—in just a few years crime and murder rates doubled, equalling or surpassing the highest levels in the world.
It’s called capitalism. On the one hand they extol the free market; on the other hand they act surprised when the free market shows itself plainly without all the cosmetics the “west” puts on it. They’re OK with the hag, as long as the hag’s got her make-up on. Murders in Russia have gone up because the state has been weakened. It’s as simple as that. You can thank that friend of the market, Yeltsin. It is starting to happen in Armenia, too, although the liberal-economy pod people wouldn’t admit the problem is a direct result of capitalism even if you put their thick skulls in a vise…although that’s no reason not to put them there and ask them to calculate the dollar value for each turn of the screw.
Comment by Armen Filadelfiatsi — September 6, 2007 @ 7:00 am
^ lol, but that is a good point about the Russian state being weak because of the rapid collapse of the USSR.
Yeh, why I asked about Chechnya was because of the history of terrorism commited against Russian citizens by external Muslims fighters, like Basayiev, gunning for pan-Islamism.
No doubt part of the race driven murders is because of terrorism and the broader Caucasian conflicts. It’s not too hard for angry and fearful people to generalise and place all ethnic looking people in the same group.
Just look at American airport security!
Comment by Eso — September 6, 2007 @ 11:30 am
just to share my experiene in Russia.
Sometime in August2005, was attcked by a group of young boys numbering between 8 and 9, I was left with a broken left arm, taken to the hospital by ambulance medical service. The police came and did their regular investigation, atleast one of the boys was arrested, I recognised him including the lady who served as a witness…later the whole story died a natural death as is usually the case in Russia, expeciially when a foreigner is involed, be of importance to note that I’m a Nigerian studing in Ivanovo-Russia. Only yesterday 8th October, 2007 again, bought a milk from a small shop, only to discover it was bad after taking some one or two sips, threw it away, thought it was on of such un-usual occurances, threw it away, bought 2 juice drink called “mijitel”, it was silled,so I drilled in the sraw, drank ahead not know it was a concortion of poisonous substances I was swallowing,I had drank more than half the content when I realised the fliud was no longer flowing upward,i brought out the straw only to discover the juice was spoilt. I was angry that all there products were that bad and yet the sold it to me, I went and picked up the milk and the juice and went back to the shop from were I bought it. Requested they made a refund showing them how bad there products were,but as usual, I had no say because I was a black man, they did not even look at me..I was getting late for class,left and went for lectures. I started feeling some ache in my stomach, told my teacher I was feeling bad and requested for permission to go see a doctor. I left to the shop,at least to go and pick up the milk and the packet of rotten juice drink, for an evidence to my doctor! But the sales lady senced I was about implicating the, she refused giving me the bottle of milk and the juice. I then pickedup the juice and made for the door, the then punced on me, dragged the bottlre with me, in the process the milk spilled on my shirt,trouser and on the floor..i then wanted to call the police with my mobile,then in a quick sucession three hefty men came draged my mobile from me.. The lady gave me some light feather blows-which in any case did no harm! I was asked to clean the floor with my shirt which I refused, they then called the police,that a negro “huligant” was in the shop terrorising the them. wheen the police arrived they saw the milk spilld all over my face,shirt and shoes! But they were not ready to hear my own side of the story, they were all calling me monkey and all what not. I told them my stomach was painning and that I needed to see my doctor. All my plea fell on deft ears. They took me to the station at Sovetskya OVD in Ivanovo. I told the officer at the reception that my stomack was painning me that I needed a doctor urgently, he then call medical service… They gave me an injection,and left,I told them I was feeling dizzy and need to have some some rest but the remanded me in cell, the worst kind you could ever imgine. If the toxic I had swallowed from the juice and Milk were poisonous enough, the odour that came ot from the cell’s toilet was double. I then reallised how far I was away from home,with one police officer particularly constantly coming to remind me I was a “monkeey”. I asked to know why the were detaining me there, they said they could only attend to me the following morning by 8:30 that is to say after about 24 hours of detention-every second in that cell was like a year in my imagination cause the horror was just too much for my senses to bear! Well I am not good at russian law, but what is the point detainning a man who had simply gone to ask for the refund of his money! My health condition became became worst as result of the toxic i had drank in the morning. I started vomiting,was shivering in cool,because of the nature of the cell, and my head too locked in pains and emptyr. I had never cried so bitterly in my entire life! The humiliation was just too much I could bear. It was only then the officer on duty per say, again called medical help again( this time using his senses-may be to tactically avoid having me die in he station) to come pick me to the hospital-I thought, even if I was a monkey_an animal, the rusian love pets dogs,cats and all sorts of animals but why was I so thought to be humiliated to such as extent, atleaset I was an animal but of a higher class, but who do I run to?! My heart bleeds-in a world of so much inequalities and injuctice! No one to hear my cry but I know God see it and one day he call all men to give account of their of the deeds whether asian, spanish, black or white!
Comment by bonus gbenizibe wombu — October 10, 2007 @ 1:00 am