Racism and Xenophobia in December 2016. Preliminary results for the year

In December 2016, three people were injured as a result of neo-Nazi attacks in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In addition, an African girl was killed in Moscow.

In total, according to our data, at the end of 2016, such attacks have occurred in 16 regions of Russia resulting in seven deaths and at least 69 injuries. Furthermore, 3 people received serious death threats. Of course, these figures are only preliminary and it is premature to compare them with our data from previous years.

The level of violence is still highest in Moscow (3 dead, 26 beaten and/or wounded) and St. Petersburg (respectively, 2 and 16). There are also a notable number of victims in the wider Moscow region (6 wounded), Vladimir (5 wounded), and the Omsk (3 wounded) areas.

The main victims of the ultra-right are Central Asian (2 dead, 20 injured), blacks (one killed), Jews (3 wounded), and natives of the Caucasus (2 killed, 1 wounded). Also joining the statistics are representatives from religious groups (20 injured), youth movements and the Left (6 wounded), LGBT (1 killed, 4 wounded), homeless (1 killed, 1 wounded) and people affected “by association” (4 wounded).

In December, the ultra-right participated in raids. At the beginning of December in St. Petersburg, 6-7 activists from the “North-Slavic Village,” dressed in camouflage clothing with covered faces, checked the documents of migrant construction workers. In addition, it is reported that the activists searched nightclubs.

Rally activities by right-wing radicals have been linked to a recent initiative called “New Opposition.” It is a union of several right-wing leaders: J. Bielecki, Yuri Gorsky and D. Romanov, in addition to M. Halperin and several other public figures from the 'liberal' wing.

In December there were calls by activists from “Russian National Unity” to send volunteers to Donbas. Ruslan Potapov spread online appeals to join the volunteer corps of RNE in Donbas.

In December, we are aware of only one act of neo-Nazi vandalism: the FSB Museum of border management in the Primorsky region.

In total for 2016, we recorded 44 ideologically motivated acts of vandalism in 25 regions of the country. The main targets of attacks have been ideological monuments (12 cases), Orthodox churches (10), the buildings of Jehovah's Witnesses (9), Muslim (4) and Jewish (5) facilities, public institutions (4), a temple wall and a statue of Buddha.

In December 2016, three men in the Vladimir, Kurgan, and Omsk regions were condemned for racist violence.

Since the beginning of the year, in cases related to racial violence, there were at least 19 convictions, which take into account the hate motive, and trials for 43 people (4 of whom received suspended sentences without additional sanctions, and one case ended in reconciliation between the parties) in 15 regions of the country.

For xenophobic propaganda, 21 verdicts were passed in 17 regions of the country in December 2016. Of these verdicts, 6 people were sentenced to imprisonment, 10 received suspended sentences, 4 were sentenced to compulsory labor, and one person was fined.

Since the beginning of the year we know of 182 convictions (excluding sentences which we consider unlawful) for certain public statements, mostly - for inciting ethnic and religious hatred, in 64 regions against 199 persons. 80 of them received suspended sentences. 42 people have sentences connected with a real deprivation of liberty.

In 2016, five sentences were handed down for vandalism motivated by hate (Part 2 of Article 214.) - To 6 people in the Vladimir, Vologda, Kirov and Chelyabinsk regions, and the Republic of Tatarstan. In December, there was no such sentences.

In December 2016, the Federal List of Extremist Materials was updated four times (7, 8, 23 and 29 December). The following items were added: 3956-4015. Overall, the list was updated 55 times in 2016 and increased from 3230 to 4015 items. List updates were less frequent than last year. In 2015, the list was updated 79 times and 667 items were added to it.

In December, the Federal list of extremist organizations (published on the website of the Ministry of Justice) added two organizations: the Jehovah's Witnesses’ religious organization "Eagle" was recognized as extremist following the verdict of the Oryol Regional Court on June 14, 2016; the party “Will,” as well as its regional branches and other structural subdivisions was recognized as extremist by the Supreme Court on 9 August 2016.

It is noteworthy that for the first time during the list’s existence, there is a detailed description of the flag and emblem of the organization (the party "Will"). Apparently, this was done to facilitate the application of Art. 20.3 of the Administrative Code, which deals with including the symbols of banned organizations.

In total for 2016, 10 organizations were added to the federal list of extremist organizations. Thus, on December 30, 2016, this list includes 57 organizations whose activities are prohibited in the courts, and continuation of this activity is punishable under Art. 282-2 of the Criminal Code (running an extremist organization).

In addition, there is an updated list of organizations recognized as terrorist posted on the FSB website.

"Ajr from Allah wa Subhanu Tagalya SHAM” was called terrorist by the Moscow Military District of the Russian Federation on December 28, 2015, and the international religious association. In 2016, claims 25 and 26 were filed adding two organizations “Aum Shinrikyo” and “Aleph” which were recognized as terrorist by the Russian Supreme Court on September 20, 2016.