Vice-Governor of the Moscow Region: “There are no serious ethnic conflicts in the region”

On May 23, 2008, the Assembly of the Peoples of the Moscow Region opened in Moscow. The event is attended by about 780 representatives of 25 national-cultural autonomies and national public associations representing the interests of "8 peoples living in the region, in particular, Ukrainians, Tatars, Mordovians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Germans, Koreans and Gypsies."

At a press conference dedicated to the opening of the Assembly, the vice-governor of the region Alexei Panteleev said that "there are no serious national conflicts in the region" .

The vice-governor acknowledged "the presence of inter-ethnic conflicts arising at the household level" . He noted that they arise where the authorities are closed from people. "Crime in the Moscow region does not have a national color, it is international ," Panteleev said.

The vice-governor also added that the Assembly of the Peoples of the Moscow Region sets itself the task of "strengthening interethnic peace and harmony, instilling patriotism and forming an all-Russian civic identity, preventing extremism and xenophobia."

Sources

• Crime in the Moscow region has no national color: vice-governor of the Moscow region // IA REGNUM. 2008. May 23.
• The Assembly of the Peoples of the Moscow Region is held for the first time in the Moscow Region // IA REGNUM. 2008. May 23.