April 2008: Monthly Results

There were at least 24 racist and Neo-Nazi assaults in April 2008, leaving 6 people dead and at least 38 injured. These numbers do not include the victims of the mass scuffle in the Tver Region, which occurred on April 5, because we are unsure of the nationalistic motivation of the participants. Apart from Moscow, the attacks took place in Vladivostok, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, St. Petersburg, Penza, Ryazan, and Stavropol.

Overall, since the beginning of the year there were 211 reported victims of hate crimes, 53 of which died. In comparison, during the same period of last year there were 236 recorded incidents resulting in 17 deaths. While on the surface it appears that the reduced number of attacks coincided with an increased brutality, we can certainly attest that the increased cruelty of the attacks has resulted in lack of publicity and reporting of the less violent incidents.

The country was particularly alarmed in the wake of Hitler's birthday (April 20). Moscow police significantly increased security amid fears of assaults by extremist Neo-Nazis, many students were cautioned about the possibility of attacks.

However, several fatal incidents, assaults, and less serious attacks still occurred on that day.

Three Russian cities (St. Petersburg, Stavropol, Ryazan) reported about Neo Nazi attacks, which resulted in 2 deaths and 5 injuries. Unconfirmed reports say that the students of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia were also attacked. This University in Moscow has become a traditional victim of skinhead violence.

Two acts of vandalism were recorded in Moscow and the Moscow Region: a Neo-Nazi graffiti appeared by the memorial plaque dedicated to the members of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, while the World War II machinery in Khimki was covered with swastikas. The St. Petersburg police thwarted two attempts to hang Neo-Nazi banners.

On the same day, the Holocaust Center's website was hacked by the Neo-Nazi activists, who replaced the homepage with swastika images.