The article mentioned here talks at what happened to this Ukrainian
when he dared speak up:
http://www.infoukes.com/lists/politics/2014/03/1824.html
Fran Ponomarenko wrote:
>
> I have been wondering how Ukrainians are faring in the Russian Federation.
>
> On Thursday, 20 March 2014, <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > Xenophobia in Russia at an All-Time High, Experts Say
> >
> > http://www.interpretermag.com/xenophobia-in-russia-at-an-all-time-high-experts-say/
> > Paul Goble
> > March 20, 2014
> >
> > Staunton, March 20 -- Xenophobia and hate crimes against members of other
> > ethnic groups, after having declined in Russia between 2009 and 2012, have
> > now risen to unprecedented levels, the result of what many see as the Putin
> > regime's backing for ethnic Russian pride, according to experts in Moscow.
> >
> > In yesterday's Yezhednevny Zhurnal, Vera Alperovich says that "the
> > outburst of ethnic violence" in Russia "is visible even to the uninterested
> > observer" and that the main victims are migrants from Central Asia and the
> > Caucasus who suffer both from organized attacks and individual violence.
> >
> > Two other trends are especially worrisome, she writes: the growth in the
> > number of attacks by organized groups and increases in the number of
> > attacks against anyone with a dark skin, Jews, ethnic Chinese and Roma
> > (gypsies), the latest confirmation that xenophobia tends to spread from new
> > targets to old ones, especially if officials do not counter it.
> >
> > 2013 was a record year in terms of the number of attacks against
> > immigrants, she says, and she recounts some of the most notorious cases,
> > including the July violence in Pugachev in Saratov oblast. What made that
> > clash stand out is that ultra-right groups were not involved; instead, the
> > population appears to have acted more or less spontaneously.
> >
> > The local authorities kept the former away from the site of the violence,
> > but what that meant in the event, Alperovich continues, is that the
> > ultra-right groups sought to spark copycat ethnic violence elsewhere. As a
> > result, the efforts of the authorities to prevent things from getting worse
> > had exactly the opposite effect.
> >
> > Unfortunately too, she says, the Pugachev case "not only emboldened the
> > nationalists" but led many candidates in last year's elections to play
> > "'the anti-immigrant card'" and promote the idea that it was necessary to
> > take addition steps to "struggle" against the appearance of "'illegal'"
> > migrants. Few who heard this distinguished between the illegal and the
> > legal ones.
> >
> > These campaign slogans were replicated by "changes in the ways the
> > authorities' behaved and those in turn emboldened the ultra-right to adopt
> > more open and aggressive actions against immigrants," Alperovich says.
> > Raids by Russian nationalists against migrant quarters became a regular
> > feature in Russian cities.
> >
> > Participating in this anti-immigrant wave gave the nationalists the
> > opportunity to "strengthen their ties with the police and the power
> > structures." The latter increasingly often have asked ultra-nationalists to
> > help them in their operations against immigrants, a pattern that limits the
> > likelihood that the police will rein in the radicals.
> >
> > That danger was clearly seen in the October clashes in Moscow's Biryulyovo
> > where the police did much less to contain the radical nationalists than
> > they had done earlier. As a result, what began as simple fighting ended in
> > "open pogroms."
> >
> > Last fall, she says, "the general level of ethnic xenophobia rose to
> > record high levels," with "anti-immigrant discourse spreading more broadly
> > than ever before," leading to demands for the imposition of a visa regime
> > for gastarbeiters and even for the expulsion of migrants already in Russia.
> >
> > This too encouraged the radical nationalists and allowed them to encourage
> > more radical element to their marches and demonstrations, as was the case
> > during the Russian March last fall. In earlier years, these events had
> > attracted older but more moderate people; this year, they attracted younger
> > and more openly radical and racist ones.
> >
> > Summing up, Alperovich says that during 2013, "the achievements of
> > previous years [in the fight against xenophobia] were gradually lost, and
> > the problems [in this year] intensified." Blame for this lies solely on the
> > regime which has signaled that it will not mount any intense effort against
> > xenophobic elements.
> >
> > And consequently, the problem feeds upon itself. The authorities'
> > increasingly tolerance for or even exploitation of ethnic extremism makes
> > it more acceptable and as it becomes more acceptable, the authorities feel
> > themselves pressed to be even more tolerant of intolerance.
> >
> > Polls show this. Over the last year, the percentage of residents of the
> > Russian Federation who support the slogan "Russia for the Russians" has
> > risen from 56 percent to 66 percent, and the share of the population who
> > favors expelling immigrants rather than helping them adapt has gone up from
> > 64 percent to 73 percent, according to the Levada Center.
> >
> > As a result, Alperovich concludes, "the social base of ethnic nationalism
> > in the country continues to grow," a trend which, in the absence of
> > official efforts to counter it, is creating a situation in which "outburst
> > of xenophobic attitudes will occur ever more frequently."
> >
>
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