Xenophobia in Russia at an All-Time High, Experts Say

[name not needed]

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.

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http://www.interpretermag.com/xenophobia-in-russia-at-an-all-time-high-experts-say/

[NuclearDem]

1. Fascism on the rise in Europe yet again.

[Behind the Aegis]

2. Let's see if they take it to a national level like their anti-gay hate laws.

Many here may actually get to witness Russian pogroms. For the sake of the Russian people, and the surrounding nations, I hope it doesn't come to pass.

[Cirque du So-What]

3. Groupthink

Let's not kid ourselves that it can only happen in far-flung places like Russia either.

[1000words]

5. Akin to the U.S. post-9/11 nationalism.

That old chestnut never fails.

[Cirque du So-What]

8. I feel fortunate

by not succumbing to the national insanity that took hold in the aftermath of 9/11. If anything, it steeled my resolve to become even more socially active for progressive causes.

[1000words]

9. My reaction as well

[NuclearDem]

6. It certainly does.

[Democracyinkind]

4. It was also VERY apparent in the treatment of those who built the infrastructure for Sotchi.

Much like in the current preparations for the world championships in Qatar, it was essentially foreign slave labor.

[joeybee12]

7. People compare Putin to Hitler, but a better comparison is Pete Wilson

A god-awful governor, incompetent, but an evil genius at politics, got re-elected because he successfully blamed Mexicans for all the state's problems, not his incompetence...what Prop # was it he got on the ballot to codify such ignorance? Can't recall, but I lived there at the time and the arguments I had with so many shitheads who thought Fascist Pete was right still irritates me.

Putin got all those draconian anti-gay laws passed to create his own scapegoat.

[reformist2]

10. These journalists might want to look at the vile elements now in the Ukrainian govt, too.