Racism and Xenophobia Update for June 2011

At least six people became victims of racist and neo-Nazi attacks in June 2011, with three of those dying due to their injuries. These figures bring the year-to-date totals to 14 deaths, 58 people injured, and an additional 5 people receiving death threats across 15 regions of Russia.

We recorded at least three acts of vandalism motivated by hatred or neo-Nazi ideology in June. In addition to ideological objects, monuments etc., the attacks on Muslim graves continued in a cemetery in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. At least seven Muslim graves in Nizhny Novgorod cemeteries have been objects of ideological vandalism since the beginning of this year; in total, there have been at least 33 acts motivated by hatred or neo-Nazi ideology across the country, with Muslim graves and monuments becoming a primary target. Ideological monuments and buildings remain vulnerable, with 12 and 11 cases, respectively, of vandalism committed on each so far this year.

At least four convictions in cases of racist violence took the hate motive into account during June in St. Petersburg, the Republic of Udmurtia, and the Moscow and Sverdlovsk regions. These cases convicted a total of 24 individuals; 2 were sentenced to life imprisonment and 11 to various terms of imprisonment, 6 received suspended sentences, and 5 were released due to expired statutes of limitation.

The most notable case was the St. Petersburg City Court’s verdict in the case against the Borovikov-Voevodin gang. Two members of the gang were sentenced to life imprisonment, with others receiving long sentences. Members of another major neo-Nazi gang, the Sverdlovsk-based Volkssturm, also faced convictions in June. Our coverage of both cases is available in Russian at http://www.sova-center.ru/racism-xenophobia/news/counteraction/2011/06/d21872/ and http://www.sova-center.ru/racism-xenophobia/news/counteraction/2011/06/d21984/.At least 28 convictions for racist violence have taken the hate motive into account since the beginning of the year. A total of 116 individuals were sentenced, with 3 facing life imprisonment, 62 facing other prison terms, and 42 receiving suspended sentences.

At least six convictions treated xenophobic propaganda this month, with seven individuals convicted. The cases were in the Arkhangelsk, Pskov, Tomsk, Tula and Tyumen regions and the Republic of Karelia. These bring the year-to-date totals to 32 convictions against 37 people in 25 regions of Russia.June also saw one sentence for xenophobic vandalism, with two individuals convicted in the Arkhangelsk Region. Since the beginning of 2011, five convictions have been made against 10 people in xenophobic vandalism cases.

The Federal List of Extremist Materials was updated four times this month, with the additions of articles 871 – 896. The updates largely consisted of Islamic materials.

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Finally, on June 6 the Vladimir Regional Court declared the interregional "Russian National Union" (RONS) to be extremist, banning its activities.