Mass beating in the Irkutsk region

On the night of August 17-18, 2007, in the village of Kytsigirovka (Irkutsk Region), a mass beating of villagers took place, which, according to eyewitnesses, had, among other things, the motive of ethnic hatred.

The beating was preceded by a domestic incident, when several drunken young people from neighboring villages tried to enter the territory of the juvenile shelter located in the village in order to "meet the girls." A fight ensued, in which the brawlers themselves suffered. After that, they left, threatening to return with "reinforcements" and take revenge.

Around 11 pm on August 17, about 50 people arrived in the village in two trucks, according to preliminary data, from the villages of Zada, Kapsal and Bulus of the Ekhirit-Bulagat district (the former Ust-Orda Buryat district). All of them were armed with bats, sticks, a picket fence with nails. The arrivals were divided into two groups, blocking the beginning and end of the village street. Turning off the street lighting, they moved towards each other, on the way beating everyone who came across them, regardless of gender and age.

As a result of the battle, which lasted about an hour, at least 20 people were injured, some of whom were hospitalized with numerous injuries (including craniocerebral and spinal injuries) and bruises.

At the same time, according to eyewitnesses, the attackers shouted that the villagers "live on their land, that they beat them, beat them and will beat them ," threatened to burn the village. It was this evidence that allowed the mayor of the Irkutsk region, Igor Naumov, to declare that, in his opinion, the pogrom had a nationalist character.

It is indicative that the media, which reported on this incident only a week later, citing the mayor of the district's statements about "interethnic strife", do not provide an explanation of where the nationalist version came from. The statements of witnesses about the cries of the attackers are given only in the video report of one of the regional channels, from which it becomes clear that the villagers are predominantly Slavs. Only from these circumstantial evidence can we conclude that Buryat nationalists were involved in the attack.

Sources

• Zvyagin Dmitry. State of emergency in the village of Kytsigirovka, Irkutsk region // Baikal-TV. 2007. 24 August.
• Video recording of the report // There.