Top > World > 2006 > January > 2006-01-24

Concern over Russian hate crimes

A recent attack by a knife-wielding attacker shouting, "I will kill Jews," is prompting an anxious debate over the rising tide of xenophobic violence in Russia and what to do about it. The assault in Moscow`s downtown Chabad Synagogue, which wounded eight people, was carried out by an alienated young loner, Alexander Koptsev, who police said was heavily under the influence of neo-Nazi books and Internet sites.

"All too often, crimes of hate get dismissed as hooliganism," says Sol Butingolts, vice president of the Russian Jewish Congress. "People must recognize that incidents like the synagogue attack threaten to undermine the basis of Russia as a multiethnic state." Some Russians and observers warn darkly of a "Weimar Russia" and warn that, while skinhead violence grabs headlines, the real danger is a new tone of nationalism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia creeping into the mainstream media and official discourse.

Mr. Koptsev has been charged with attempted murder aimed at "humiliating national or religious groups," a serious crime under Russian law. It was one of a string of racially motivated attacks that human rights groups say have killed more than 40 people in the past year alone. Spokespeople for minority groups complain that Russian police often seem reluctant to prosecute probable racist crimes.