Russian Federation 2006

 

Although Jews are not the main targets of Russian xenophobia, they suffered several serious attacks in 2006, including the stabbing of eight worshippers in a Moscow synagogue. Prior to parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled to be held in 2007 and 2008, pro-Kremlin political activists began preparing a trouble-free transfer of power, inter alia, by launching a media campaign to discredit certain nationalist opposition parties, such as Rodina. Antisemitism figures prominently in this drive. There was an increase in criminal cases opened against perpetrators of antisemitic incidents on the charge of incitement to ethnic enmity.

 

the Jewish Community

According to the last population census held in 2002, the Jewish population in Russia was 230,000, out of a total population of 144 million; however, the number is probably higher since some Jews are known to conceal their ethnicity/religion. Most Jews live in the larger cities.

Jewish umbrella organizations in Russia are the Vaad of Russia (also known as the Federation of Jewish Organizations and Communities, FEOR, founded in 1992) and the Russian Jewish Congress (REK, founded in 1996). Communal religious organizations follow three trends: traditional Rabbinic Orthodoxy, Reform Judaism and Lubavitch Hasidim (ChaBaD; Chief Rabbi of Russia Berl Lazar). There is also the Congress of Jewish Religious Communities and Organizations of Russia (KEROOR, founded in 1993; Chief Rabbi of Russia Avraam (Adolf) Shaevich). In 2002 the Federation of Jewish Communities and the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (established by the Vaad of Russia and the Russian Jewish Congress) founded the World Congress of Russian Speaking Jewry.

There are Jewish elementary schools, Sunday schools, a small network of pre-school education, religious high schools (yeshiva) and pedagogic colleges. Most schools are financed by the national budget and/or community organizations, the Jewish Agency in Russia, ORT or international religious organizations.

Other institutions include the Russian-US Center for Bible and Jewish Studies under the Russian State Humanitarian University, the Maimonides State Classical Academy, the S. Dubnov Higher School (formerly, Jewish University in Moscow), the Center for Jewish Studies and Civilization at Moscow State University, the 21st Century University, St. Petersburg Institute of Jewish Studies, and the Center for Bible and Jewish Studies at St. Petersburg State University. Holocaust studies are coordinated by the Holocaust Foundation, established in 1992. Several cities have sections of the Jewish international youth organization Hillel. A number of the communities and organizations issue newspapers and operate Internet sites.

 

political background and extremist parties

Elections to the lower house of the Russian parliament (Duma) are scheduled to be held at the end of 2007, and in 2008 President Vladimir Putin will end his second and final (according to the Constitution) term as president. During his presidency, Putin and his administration succeeded in building a powerful mechanism which controls all aspects of politics, the economy and information, bringing relative stability to the country after the difficult 1990s.

Both elections will influence the activity of extreme right groups, including their coverage in the mass media and the government’s attitude toward them. One of the main tasks of pro-Kremlin political activists in 2006 was to prepare a smooth, trouble-free transfer of power in 2007−8, requiring, among other measures, the weakening of opposition forces. One strategy has been the launching of a media campaign to discredit some nationalist opposition groups. Antisemitism, widely regarded as being unacceptable domestically, including among the elites, as well as internationally, has become an important instrument in this mission. The antisemitic “Letter of 500,” signed in early 2005, among others, by nationalist MPs of the Rodina faction (see ASW 2005), became a “gift” to the Kremlin in that it justified for the Russian public as well as for foreign observers, the necessity of harsh measures against the opposition.

The People’s Patriotic Union, Rodina (Motherland), headed by Dmitrii Rogozin, was established with the Kremlin’s support immediately prior to the elections to the State Duma in 2003 as a leftist nationalist bloc under the control of the authorities as a counterforce to the Communists. However, in late 2004, inspired by the Ukrainian Orange Revolution, Rogozin decided to join the opposition. This step led to the radicalization of the already existing ethnic-nationalistic wing in Rodina and to aggressive xenophobic agitation in the regional elections of late 2005 and early 2006. As a result of the party’s transformation into an opposition force, a campaign against it was begun in the official mass media, in which the “Letter of 500,” as well as the attack on the Moscow synagogue in January 2006 (see below), was employed. Nevertheless, this attempt did not prevent Rodina from winning 10−20 percent of the votes in regional elections held between 2004 and 2006. In 2005, Rodina was removed from election lists in a number of regions, including Moscow, allegedly because of its xenophobic campaign materials. In contrast, the pro-Kremlin Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), led by Vladimir Zhirinovsky, was not erased from any elections lists although it too used xenophobic materials in its campaigns. (At the 2003 Duma elections, LDPR gained 12 percent of the vote while Rodina received 9.2 percent.)

Rogozin subsequently left his position as head of Rodina to establish a new party in 2007 and the new leadership merged the rump of the party with Partia Zhizni (Party of Life), led by Speaker of the Federation Council (upper chamber of the Russian parliament) Sergei Mironov. The new political formation, Spravedlivaia Rossia: Rodina - Pensionery - Zhiz’n (Fair Russia: Motherland − Pensioners – Life; the Russian Party of Pensioners also joined) is expected to be loyal to the Kremlin in the coming elections.

 

Antisemitic and racist activity

The year 2006 in Russia was marked by two trends in regard to antisemitism: on the one hand, it began with several attacks on Jews (see below); on the other, there were numerous initiatives on the part of NGOs to combat antisemitism and fascism. However, although law enforcement agencies were also more active in dealing with antisemitism, there was little change in the level and nature of such activity.

Antisemitism in Russia today should be examined in the context of the general ethnic situation there. Xenophobia toward ethnic and religious minorities in Russian society continues to be a serious problem. In 2006, skinheads murdered dozens of members of ethnic minorities and injured hundreds more in city streets; moreover, not all such crimes are reported. Jews are not prime targets of xenophobia; Caucasians, Central Asians and Roma are the main ones. For example, on 21 August, an explosion took place at the Cherkizovskii market in Moscow, which is owned by Jews and used by traders from China and Central Asia. Ten people were killed and about 50 injured. Further, an incident in a local bar in the town of Kondopoga ( Republic of Karelia) resulted in chaos and pogroms motivated by ethnic enmity. On the night of 29−30 August, a massive fight took place between Russians and Chechens in the Chaiika coffee-house. Three people died and 10 were injured. On 1−2 September, there were several anti-Caucasian actions, such as an attempt to demolish the Chaiika coffee-house with stones and Molotov bottles, and to set fire to a store owned by people of Caucasian origin, as well as the offices of the coffee-house owner and the owner of the local market. On 5−6 September there was an arson attempt on a local sports school, where families from Central Asia were living temporarily. Dozens were arrested during this period.

In addition, attacks on anti-fascist activists became more frequent: on 15 November, for instance, Dmitrii Dubrovskii, an expert on xenophobia from St. Petersburg, was beaten up and told: “You want to sell Russia to the Jews.”

 

Violent Attacks, Vandalism and Harassment

Several major attacks and attempted attacks on Jews were reported in 2006. On 11 January, Aleksandr Koptsev stabbed eight people in the CHaBaD synagogue on Bolshaia Bronnaia St., Moscow, during prayers. Rabbi Itshkak Kogan and his son disarmed him as he shouted “Heil Hitler” and claimed that he had come to kill Jews. He was arrested and during questioning admitted having read extremist material on the Internet. He also said he was motivated by anti-Jewish feeling, but later denied this. The police found extreme right, nationalist and antisemitic literature, fascist symbols and addresses of three Moscow synagogues in his apartment. The incident was condemned by Duma deputies from various parties, the Russian-Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchy, the Russian Council of Muftis, the Central Spiritual Organization of Muslims and the Union of Journalists of Russia, among others.

On 27 March, Koptsev was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment; however this ruling was overturned on 29 June by the Supreme Court and a retrial was ordered after both the defense and the prosecution filed appeals. The defense argued that Koptsev was mentally unstable while the prosecution asked to include an additional charge − incitement of ethnic hatred. On 15 August the retrial began and one month later the Moscow City Court convicted him of inciting ethnic and religious hatred and sentenced him to 16 years imprisonment in a maximum security prison and compulsory psychological treatment. This verdict was upheld by the Supreme Court on 30 November.

Two days after the Moscow attack, Vadim Domnitskii entered a synagogue in Rostov and threatened to stab the Jews there if the rabbi refused to speak to him. He was stopped by the guards and arrested. When the police questioned him, he said he was inspired by Koptsev. He was charged with hooliganism, but on 10 April was declared psychologically unfit to stand trial. In May, his trial for threatening to kill or injure people began in absentia. On 15 June the Kirov Regional Court of Rostov ordered Domnitskii to be hospitalized for treatment in a psychiatric hospital; however on 22 August a regional court released him. According to his lawyer, the court had deemed his crime insignificant.

In addition, two youths approached Rabbi Nison Ruppo, the rabbi of Kostroma, at a trolleybus station on 13 February, spat in his face, shouted antisemitic remarks and made threatening gestures. On 19 February, a 23-year-old Israeli citizen, a student at the St. Petersburg Hertzen University, was beaten and hospitalized with head injuries. On 1 September Veronika Ustilovskii was beaten and abused with antisemitic insults by two fellow students in Moscow. The police classified the case as common assault and ignored the antisemitic motive. On 21 October ten skinheads entered an art gallery in Moscow owned by the Jewish anti-fascist activist Marat Gelman, beat him up and damaged several paintings of Aleksandr Dzhiki (of Georgian origin).

On 20 April (the anniversary of Adolf Hitler’s birthday) a group of youths shouting antisemitic remarks threw stones at the windows of a synagogue in Orenburg and painted Nazi graffiti on the fence. On 21 June Denis Poriadin approached the synagogue and Jewish community center in Ekaterinburg, shouted antisemitic insults and slashed the door with a knife. He was arrested and on 23 June; a local court found him guilty of assault and sentenced him to 24 hours detention. On 12 August a petrol bomb was thrown at a synagogue in Khabarovsk. The bomb hit the fence and fell into a puddle. On 20 September stones were thrown at the synagogue of Astrakhan, breaking two of its windows. A day later a gasoline bomb was thrown at the door of the synagogue, setting fire to the door. On 4 November two petrol bombs were thrown at the Jewish cultural center in Surgut and on 15 December a gas canister was thrown into the Jewish community center in Pskov while a Hanukkah celebration was going on inside. On 25 December, windows were broken on the second floor of the Jewish community building in Ulianovsk, Nazi symbols were painted on the walls and threatening antisemitic leaflets left there. A suspect was arrested in early January 2007. On 30 December two young people entered the Jewish cultural center in Ulianovsk, shouting “Get out of here quickly or we will slaughter you!” and broke windows and mirrors. One of the perpetrators was arrested.

Harassment was also a common form of antisemitic activity. During the week of Passover (12−19 April), for instance, groups of youths shouted antisemitic insults and “Sieg Heil” at religious Jews in Rybinsk and in Izhevsk.

 

Graffiti

Antisemitic graffiti was painted on Jewish facilities throughout the country. For example, on 18 February swastikas appeared on the building in Saratov housing the Jewish Agency’s offices, as well as on the main door of the Jewish charity organization Khesed Yerushalaim. The police arrested Maksim Tiurim (no known affiliation) on 6 April and on 11 May the Kirov Regional Court in Saratov gave him a two year suspended sentence and one year of probation. “Death to the Yids,” “Holocaust 88” and a swastika were painted on the fence of the Jewish cultural center and synagogue in Khabarovsk on 20 June. On 23 June “Jews=Fascists” and other slogans appeared on the synagogue in Tomsk..

Mytishchi, near Moscow recorded its first antisemitic incident ever when “Death to the Yids” and a crossed-out Star of David were painted on the walls of the Jewish center there in August. In October-November antisemitic graffiti was painted on Jewish facilities in Kaliningrad and pupils at the Or Avner Jewish school discovered the windows broken, with a note reading: “For the purity of the nation.” The note was decorated with a swastika and a Star of David in a trash can.

Jewish graves were also desecrated. For example, during the week of Passover swastikas were painted on ten graves in the Jewish cemetery in Omsk, while in October eight gravestones were broken in the Jewish section of the Egoshikhinskii cemetery in Perm. The cemetery has been desecrated several times in the past and was restored earlier in 2006 by the local Jewish community. On 2 October, 150 Jewish and Tatar gravestones were broken in a cemetery in Tver. Swastikas and antisemitic slogans were painted on some of the Jewish graves. Three suspects were arrested several days later. On 13 October ten gravestones were broken in the Jewish cemetery in Kaluga. In early November the local newspaper Kaluzhskaia Nedelia published a letter by the local mayor, Maksim Akimov, addressed to the head of the local Jewish community, Vladimir Feldman, expressing his condemnation of the desecration and promising to find the perpetrators.

 

Propaganda

Antisemitic leaflets with a picture of a medieval Russian warrior threatening a stereotypical Jew with a bayonet were distributed in mail boxes in Vladimir in May. The caption read, “Zionists Besmirch Victory,” referring to the Soviet victory in World War II. On 10 June antisemitic and anti-immigration posters containing swastikas were hung on buildings in Moscow. They accused the Jews of occupying Russia and called to free the country from the “criminal regime of the Jewish occupation.” On 13 July antisemitic posters showing a religious Jew emerging from a page of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and a Russian warrior stabbing him in the eye with a dagger, appeared on buildings in Vologda. The caption read: “We will exterminate our enemies without remorse.” Antisemitic posters hung in Moscow on 9 August accused the Jews of controlling Russian wealth, while the Russian poor remained homeless and died, as well as being fascists from whom Russia should be freed. On 23 October posters were found on columns at the entrance to the city of Nakhodka, read, inter alia: “The Yids rule in Russia,” “The Yids murdered the Tsar” and “God, rid us from the Yids’ Yoke.”

During February 2006 antisemitic and racist leaflets were distributed in Tver, reading “Russians! Free your native land from kike fascism,” and “The Caucasian mafia is coordinating with the Zionist mafia” in order to dominate Russia.” The leaflets called for the formation of Russian self-defense units. On 4 October members of the National Sovereign Party of Russia (NDPR) held antisemitic placards during a street meeting in Voronezh. The placards, reading “Democracy Jewish style,” showed a Star of David intertwined with a swastika. The police who guarded the participants did not intervene.

On 29 July Sovetskaia Rossia, the organ of the Communist Party of Russia (KPRF), published an interview with the party leader, Gennadii Ziuganov. Ziuganov claimed that Zionism uses antisemitism as a “test weapon [for their own purposes]” and that Jewish oligarchs control the Russian media. On 30 June in an interview on the Irkutsk news website virk.ru, Duma deputy Igor Rodionov (Rodina Party) accused the Jews of causing political disunity in Russia because of Zionism’s pernicious influence. During July the anti-Communist tabloid Moskovskii Komsomolets v Riazani published articles on ‘world Zionism’, the ‘Zionist plot to dominate Riazan’, and the spread of ‘Jewish fascism’, as well as articles accusing the Jews of all Russia’s problems. The local Jewish community filed a complaint.

On 17 March antisemitic and xenophobic literature was displayed at the 9th national book fair in Moscow. Among the publishers were the nationalistic Russkaia Pravda and Algoritm. Following a complaint by FEOR and KEROOR, the Federal Agency for Printing and Mass Communications instructed the organizers to close the booths of these publishers. Russkaia Pravda and Algoritm also took part in the 19th International Book Fair in Moscow which opened on 6 September. Algoritm invited to its stand authors known for their antisemitic writings. Russkaia Pravda displayed, among other things, the book Blow of the Russian Gods by Vladimir Istarkhov, which Koptsev, the perpetrator of the January synagogue attack, claimed had influenced him.

In early January antisemitic and racist graffiti appeared on corridors, on escalators and in trains of the St. Petersburg metro. The slogans and symbols were later covered with stickers saying “Antifa” (anti-fascism). A call to kill Jews was found on a St. Petersburg bank on 18 January and “Death to the Yids” was painted on the wall of a museum in Saransk in early May. On 8 May, the 61st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, a swastika and a Star of David on a gallows were painted on a building in the center of Odintsovo.

Antisemitic motifs were also reported at demonstrations linked to the Second Lebanese War (See General Analysis) as well as at events unconnected to the Middle East or to the Jews.

 

responses to racism and antisemitism

A consequence of the campaign against extremism mentioned above was to draw the attention of law enforcement agencies and the public to the escalating problem of racism and antisemitism in the country. There was an increase in criminal cases opened against perpetrators of antisemitic incidents on the charge of “incitement to ethnic enmity,” instead of mere “hooliganism.”

Two trials took place against antisemites for crimes committed prior to 2006. On 13 March the verdict was given in a Tomsk court regarding a booby trapped antisemitic poster set up on a highway near the city in 2002. It was revealed that the group responsible had also committed two murders, spilt mercury twice in a local restaurant owned by a Jewish man and had been planning to blow up the Tomsk synagogue. The court found the leader Victor Lukianchikov and group member Igor Kirillov guilty of banditry, terrorism, premeditated murder with aggravating circumstances and kidnapping; the two were sentenced to 23 and 20 years, respectively, in a maximum security prison. A third member, Vladimir Istomin, was sentenced to 6 years and 1 month in prison.

On 2 October the Sverdlovsk Regional Court began discussing the case of the murder of 21-year-old Jew Andrey Dziuba, who was killed on 1 October 2005 in Yekaterinburg. The incident became known from the media only after the trial began. The verdict, given in early 2007, found the suspects guilty of murder motivated by ethnic hatred and sentenced them to prison terms ranging from five to ten years.

On 20 February a dozen political parties, including the pro-presidential United Russia (which forms the majority in parliament) and LDPR, signed an Anti-Fascist Pact in Moscow, agreeing to combat extremism and nationalism in Russia. Andreii Isayev, member of United Russia and one of the pact’s initiators, said that it was a response to the march of a right-wing group in November 2005 and the Moscow synagogue stabbing in January 2006. The parties will endeavor to have parties and organizations that incite nationalism banned.

On 15 August, Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the Duma Committee on International Affairs, denounced the Holocaust cartoon competition in Tehran (held from 14 August to 13 September), stating that it was as unacceptable as cartoons on the Prophet Mohammed were in the European press. Calling the Holocaust one of the most heinous pages in the history of mankind, he said it should not be used as a satirical weapon under any circumstances. On the same day the Association of Muslim Journalists in Russia (Muslim Press) published a poll on its website in which Islamic leaders in Russia were asked if they would attend the exhibition of Holocaust cartoons. Mansur Shakirov, vice-chairman of the Russian Council of Muftis, said that under no circumstances would he attend since it was forbidden to make fun of the dead, and added: “Our Jewish brothers were burned in ovens, poisoned by gas, hanged and shot only because they were Jews. This was and still is a tragedy for all humanity.” Negative answers were also received from other Islamic leaders.

In a press release issued on 12 December the Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the Holocaust conference in Iran, stating that Russia opposed concealing Nazi crimes and distorting history and supported the UN declaration proscribing Holocaust denial. The Moscow Patriarchate also denounced the Iranian conference.