Racism and Xenophobia Update for April 2011

In April 2011, at least 19 people were victims of racist and neo-Nazi attacks. Among them, one was killed (a Central Asian in Moscow), and three received serious death threats.

According to SOVA’s data, violent incidents were recorded in Moscow (2 injured, 1 killed), St. Petersburg (7 injured), the Kaliningrad region (4 injured), and the Republic of Bashkortostan (1 injured). This brings the year-to-date totals across thirteen regions of Russia to 10 killed and at least 55 injured in racist or neo-Nazi attacks, with 5 receiving death threats.

We call special attention to the brutal murder of a 23-year old far-right activist in Omsk, who was killed by his former comrades for “betraying” the ideals of the movement.

In April we recorded no fewer than 7 incidents of vandalism that we interpret as motivated by hatred or neo-Nazi ideology; this brings the year-to-date total to at least 24 recorded incidents. One penalty for xenophobic vandalism was issued against two men for painting a swastika and the numbers 14/88 on the fence of a mosque; they were both given a year in prison.

Thirty-four individuals were convicted in 7 cases that took the hate motive into account in dealing with racist violence; the decisions took place in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Bryansk, and the Kaliningrad and Yaroslavl regions. The results are broken down as follows: 16 people received suspended sentences, while 15 were given varying prison terms. Three were required to complete labor terms, but were released from punishment due to an expired statute of limitations.

In one single case, the Yaroslavl Regional Court brought convictions against 19 individual members of a local Nazi skinhead group.

April also saw the close of the case against Nikita Tikhonov and Evgenia Khasis, who had been accused of the particularly brash murder of Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova in broad daylight as they left a press conference in January 2009. The jury found both defendants guilty.

In all, these numbers bring the year-to-date total number of individuals convicted in trials concerning racist violence, and accounting for the hate motive to 60, with 25 receiving suspended sentences.

Cases of xenophobic propaganda brought six sentences in April, in the Volgograd, Novosibirsk, and Sverdlovsk regions, and the Republics of Bashkortostan and Karelia. Six individuals were convicted: 3 were given conditional sentences, one was sentences to compulsory labor, one freed due to an expired statute of limitations, and in one case, criminal proceedings were discontinued in light of the defendant’s supposed repentance. This brings the year-to-date total of decisions in xenophobic propaganda cases to 18, across 15 regions, with convictions levied against 22 individuals. Eight of those decisions were arbitrary, with no additional sanctions brought against the defendants.

The Federal List of Extremist Materials was updated three times in April, on the 13^th, 18^th, and 28^th; entries 809-851 were added. Thus at the end of April the list contained 851 items.

The most significant civil legal decision of the month was the Moscow City Court’s ban on the DPNI, a ruling which also deemed the organization to be extremist.