Far-right activists from Russia’s largest nationalist movement, Russkaya Obshchina, wore black. Camouflage and patrolled several cities last month to hunt for Called “ethnic criminals,” they raid dormitories, parks and construction sites in search of migrants from Central Asia. Caught six on November 24th.– on social media Activists celebrate In a “co-operative raid with law enforcement officials,” he posted a video of himself shackling migrants in chains on their way to deportation.
Russkaya Obshchina is working with the Russian state to carry out a new and violent anti-immigrant campaign. in august President Vladimir Putin Sign the bill Allows migrants to be expelled without a court decision. It’s been three months later. Additional amendments The Criminal Code recommends strict sentencing guidelines for “Anti-illegal immigration” deportations have skyrocketed According to the Russian news agency TASS, the government is in exile. More than 60,000 This year’s migrants, as of November 1, were twice as many as in the first nine months of 2023. On November 8, the Russian Interior Ministry announced decision to deport another 20,000 people
Perhaps more remarkable than the campaign is the well of ethnic hatred it seems to have entered. At the gathering this fall Thousands of far-right activists and nationalist extremists marched through cities. of Russia to support Putin’s policies They too are blessed by the all-powerful Russian Orthodox Church. in September Monks in flowing robes lead the crowd. 75,000 People take part in a religious procession in St. Petersburg. which members of Russkaya Obshchina pray “Russians, go ahead! We are Russian God is with us!” Some carry out Black Flag of the mercenary group Wagner Group, known for its brutality in Ukraine and Africa. last month More than 2,000 members of the nationalist movement The “Two-Headed Eagle” and the Tsargrad Movement marched in Nizhny Novgorod with the flag of the Russian Empire. Their founder, Orthodox oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev, also marched.
In 2014, the United States approved Malofeyev for his support of Russian separatist movements in Ukraine’s Crimea and Donbas regions. He does not believe that Ukraine has the right to exist. It was of the Russian Empire that he hoped to revive. In interview with Financial Times Earlier this month, Malofeyev appeared to be speaking on Putin’s behalf when he denounced Donald Trump’s Ukraine-Russia peace proposal before talks had even begun. “In order for the negotiations to be constructive We need to talk not about the future of Ukraine. but also the future of Europe and the world.”
How did radical nationalists infiltrate Russian police and politics? Putin’s Kremlin isn’t winning. history of aiding far-right hate groups involved in violence against migrants. In 2014, he effectively took control of the nationalist agenda when he annexed Crimea and supported a militarized separatist movement in Donbas. These maneuvers are intended to serve what Putin calls “a new generation of military personnel.” “Russian World”: whoever he said “Those who feel a spiritual connection to our motherland, bearers of language, history. and Russian culture”
Full-scale invasion in 2022 accelerates nationalist movement “During the war in Ukraine People we thought were excluded have become Russian figures,” said Russian investigative journalist Pavel Kanijin. “The clear ideology of nationalists, such as the monarchy Rebuilding the Russian Empire Empowerment of the Church It resonates with Russian security services and law enforcement officials.”
Politicians too, parliamentarians such as Mikhail Matveyev, publicly endorse Russkaya Obshchina, said Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry. Post to take a photo with the group’s black flag in hand Pro-Kremlin newspaper I hate it. explain group as a “healthy force in the field of Russian nationalism.” This political support helps Russkaya Obshchina to have great influence. On Telegram, the group has more than 600,000 followers, one of them Post It shows Russian fighters in Ukraine wearing uniforms with a black sun. which is a nazi symbol “We are sacrificing our health. our lives for our children and grandchildren and their future,” one soldier tells the camera. “Not for the sake of strangers replacing us in our city.”
Another far-right group is Russian Druzina Wear a balaclava and armor. and swept across Micci in August. The leader wears its mask. Reported That he and the vigilante gang worked together. “Together with law enforcement agencies to identify persons living illegally on Russian territory,” judging by the way the group describes its mission, This summary aims to “Reviving the true Russian spirit” in the same month There is a report of a society called Northern Man. imprisoned More than 240 migrants cooperate with police
Last year, a northerner became famous for organizing street protests against the construction of a large mosque near Moscow. Days later, the city’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, announced that the mosque would be moved to a larger site. much smaller “Russian authorities adjust their policies under nationalist pressure,” said Alexander Verkhovsky, founder of SOVA Center, a Moscow-based group that tracks xenophobia and right-wing movements. speak to me
“Trump and his administration should understand that the Russian mainstream has shifted to the right,” Verkhovsky added. As for Russia’s growing ultra-nationalist group, he said Trump’s “plan to keep Kiev independent will not be acceptable” to Trump.
Russia’s nationalist movement is growing stronger amid rising immigration numbers. The country has long attracted immigrants from Central Asian countries that were once part of the Soviet Union. This population is mostly non-Slavic and includes many Muslims. Last year, Russia Already registered Arrival of more than 8.5 million migrant workers, including more than one million Tajik workers. One immigrant rights advocate told me that at least one million people in Russia are undocumented.
Hate for these immigrants is overwhelming in Russia. After a concert hall in Moscow was attacked by terrorists associated with the Central Asian branch of the Islamic State group, the massacre, which took place in March. It killed at least 145 people and injured more than 500. Police stopped and questioned migrant workers from Central Asia on the subway and on the streets. Several months later, the Russian Interior Ministry Announced that “the main task is to brighten the Moscow region so as not to blacken foreigners.” This term has become common among Russian officials and police officers involved in criminal offenses against non-Slaan immigrants. F
Svetlana Gannushkina, head of the Citizens’ Assistance Committee which is a Moscow-based charity that provides legal support to immigrants. Tell me that public transportation has become especially dangerous for people of Central Asian descent. But attacks can happen anywhere. “Recently, two Uzbek men asked for our help. After they were severely beaten by young extremists” at a store, she said, “one of our lawyers took on the case. But it appears that one of the Patriots has influential connections. Therefore, both victims were jailed.”
Gannushkina is 82 years old and has been protecting refugees, IDPs and migrants in Russia since 1990. In 2022, the human rights group she co-founded, Memorial, received the Nobel Peace Prize. She told me that she sees a connection between the rise in ethnic hatred and the broader campaign of repression that Putin has set out on Russian society. She noted that people may be angry at officials. But they are not allowed to criticize them. The Kremlin has redirected its hatred towards immigrants and non-Slavs.
Verkhovsky told me that the state news agency had used the term. evacuate More often this year The study was conducted by the Levada Center, a sociological research agency in Moscow. meet 68 percent of Russians say their country must limit the flow of migrants. “The highest level of hostility was recorded against Roma. People from the Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union And in the past two years towards the Ukrainian people,” the report said. say– Verkhovsky believes the Kremlin is squeezing out this concern. “We have never before seen Russians feel so ‘concerned’” about immigrants, he told me.
Attacks on immigrants unleashed by the Russian nationalist movement along with the police It has become so violent that even some of Putin’s first-time defenders can’t stand it. Despite being a member of Russia’s military alliance, recently the Tajikistan government called To stop his citizens from visiting Russia amid the conclusion of the results, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov blamed the Kremlin for the campaign. “Persecution based on nationality or religion,” he called it. “The Messy Investigation of Citizens of Foreign Countries”
Kadyrov is hardly a Kremlin critic. Already back in 2010 tell me Putin said “I love him very much. As a man can love a man.” But there will be enough time.
