The Russia Journal

Violence against minorities in Russia, especially those from non-Slavic countries and, most of all, from the Caucasus, has been on the upswing in recent years. This has been in large part fueled by the resurgence of the conflict in Chechnya, the association in the popular mind of people from that part of the world with violence and crime, and a generally resurgent Russian nationalism.

Last year, violence against foreigners reached an apex in Moscow with the attack against ethnic minorities in the Tsaritsyno market by a large group of young men identified as associated with Russia National Unity, an extremist ultranationalist organization. Three people were killed and many more injured.

Fortunately, explosions of ethnically motivated thuggishness at such a level of wantonness are rare. However, almost everyone here with a face that resembles that of a Caucasian, African or East Asian can tell stories ranging from simple harassment and heckling to full-fledged assault and battery.

Even more disturbing is the extent to which the police by and large turn a blind eye to this state of affairs by either being sympathetic to or tacitly endorsing it themselves, or filing it under that catch-all category of the Russian criminal-justice system, "hooliganism." Of the dozens of people involved in the Tsaritsyno attacks, just to present one telling example, to date zero persons have been prosecuted for their malfeasance, and neither the police nor city government seem particularly disturbed by this state of affairs.

Most non-Russians in Moscow are not involved in criminal activity (other than possibly the necessary one of getting by without a residency permit). They are simply attempting to live their lives and pose no threat to anyone. It is, therefore, tragic that many are unable to even walk down a city street without fear of violent consequences.