Russian nationalism and xenophobia. Results of March 2020

In March 2020, the SOVA Center became aware of at least four victims of hate-motivated attacks in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Since the beginning of the year, according to our data, as a result of violence motivated national or ideological hatred, at least 10 people suffered in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Three more people received serious threats murder.

In March, we became aware of one case of desecration Orthodox church: 29-year-old resident of Voronezh painted a swastika on tombstones next to the temple of the prophet Samuel on Karl Marx street. Since the beginning of the year, we we know three cases of xenophobic-motivated vandalism.

Flash coronovirus has caused numerous offensive and racist comments about the Chinese and people from other Asian countries. However, to Fortunately, it did not come to direct attacks, everything was limited to verbal insults.

Russians nationalists also did not ignore the topic of the epidemic. Committee "Nation and Freedom" (KNS) accused the policies of Vladimir Putin of spreading the “Chinese contagion” and issued an appeal in January demanding that the border with China be closed. KNS deployed on social networks, an anti-immigrant campaign, blaming everything on the “tolerance of internationalist plutocrats”, who "prefer to trample on the civil liberties of their own population than offend a few migrants from Asia.”

National Conservative movement (NKD), on the contrary, supported the quarantine and called on all Orthodox people to observe it and pray. The NKD also requires the government to ban the sale of alcohol during quarantine.

The National Democratic Party (NDP) reacted quite positively to the call of Vladimir Putin stay at home without the introduction of quarantine, however, when forced isolation regime for all citizens, the NDP strongly condemned it.

"Great Russia” considered that the coronavirus is a global provocation, which was organized by China, and Putin used in Russia.

Russian the imperial movement (RIM) said that China needed the virus in order to "gradually cool down an overheated economy." RID also opposed the closure of churches.

Leaders the “Third Alternative”, on the contrary, call the hysteria around the virus strongly exaggerated, and the coronavirus itself is no more dangerous than the seasonal flu.

benefit only the leaders of the Russian Youth Vanguard found coronavirus socialists (MARS), who felt that "the pandemic opened the abscess of this world" megacities and global capitalism, and it became obvious that the key to salvation is national identity and collectivism.

On March 17, a rally was held in Moscow on Suvorovskaya Square against the amendments to The constitution, which was carried out by the coalition "Unified Organizing Committee". In this coalition, in addition to the communists and socialists, includes the Permanent Conference of National-Patriotic forces of Russia (PDS NPSR) and related groups. The "Third Alternative" ("Right Bloc") and the Union of Russian people. The rally was not approved, so about 50 activists gathered for Suvorovskaya Square with flags, but without sound amplifying equipment.

Nationalists participated in protests against the constitutional reforms and together with the liberals: at least one KNS activist accepted participation in daily pickets in Moscow against amendments to the Constitution and zeroing Putin's terms. The same pickets were held in Syktyvkar by the coalition “Assembly public of the Komi Republic”, which is actually led by the ex-leader of the organization "Frontier of the North" Alexey Kolegov.

But in Sevastopol, the movement "Sevastopol Initiative" Vsevoloda Radchenko held a picket on March 1 in support of the "Russian amendments" (ie amendments to the constitution).

For March, we do not know the sentences handed down for crimes hate. In total, in 2020, the SOVA Center is aware of one sentence for racist violence, in which a hate motive was taken into account, in St. Petersburg, and not one for vandalism.

For xenophobic statements in March, 7 sentences against 10 people in 7 regions of the country. Two judgments were handed down under Art. 205.2 of the Criminal Code (justification of terrorism) - for calls to join terrorist organization Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (prisoner of the colony), and for propaganda for the activities of the banned Islamic State (ISIS).

The remaining eight people were convicted under Article 280 of the Criminal Code (public calls for extremist activities). These judgments were issued:

• members of the neo-Nazi community Vesna Crew from Tomsk region for publishing videos demonstrating their own “acts vandalism against the property of persons of non-Slavic appearance”, as well as attacks on “specified persons and representatives of certain social groups, including those the use of improvised means as a weapon”;

• a resident of the Smolensk region for publishing xenophobic videos calling for violence against "non-Slavs";

• a prisoner of the colony for publishing posts on VKontakte with calls to attack "non-Slavs" and benchmarks;

• “citizen of the USSR” (i.e., a member of the community of people who deny the collapse of the Soviet Union and insist on the need to comply with Soviet laws) who published a “decree” calling for be united by everyone who is a supporter of the restoration of the USSR and the RSFSR, "including number and with the use of violent methods, up to execution”;

• convict colony for showing videos promoting radical Islam.

Unfortunately, in all these cases we did not see incriminated materials, so we cannot accurately judge the legality of the sentences.

Since the beginning of the year, for racist and other agitation there have been at least 11 sentences were handed down, in which 14 people were convicted in 10 regions of the country.

Federal List of Extremist Materials in February updated twice (March 10 and 23), paragraphs. 5010-5017 - three anti-Semitic publications (two articles and book), videos with speeches of the leaders of the Third Reich in German and a video with the participation of a fighter from the Ukrainian battalion "Tornado", who calls himself a "mujahideen".

At least four people were punished under Art. 20.3.1 Administrative Code (incitement of national hatred), corresponding to the composition of Part 1 of Art. 282 UK. All of them were fined for posting xenophobic messages on social networks. statements directed against the natives of Central Asia, Russians and Chinese (in connection with the coronavirus).

Seven people were fined in February under Art. 20.29 Administrative Code (production and distribution of prohibited materials), including for republishing in social networks of songs with characteristic titles “Russian Bear. Death to Chocks" and "My Struggle".

Nine people were punished under Art. 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (propaganda and public demonstration of Nazi symbols and symbols of prohibited organizations). One of them, a prisoner of the colony, showed off his tattoos. with symbols of the SS troops. The rest posted images of the swastika, the state flag of the Third Reich, symbols of the III SS Panzer Division "Dead head" and other Nazi symbols in social networks.

We provide data on criminal and administrative cases without taking into account the decisions of the courts, which we consider clearly unlawful. Our data, especially in relation to the Code of Administrative Offenses, are significantly incomplete.