Fascist street violence in Russia is on a steady rise. With increasing frequency, neo-Nazi assaults on ethnic, religious and sexual minorities, anti-fascists, punks, and alternative youths end in homicide.
In 2007, sixty-seven people were killed and more than 550 injured in fascist attacks across Russia. Russian courts delivered only 24 convictions related to hate crimes in the same year.
In 2008, there have been an average of two fatalities every week (60 until the end of July).
More often than not, Russian police look the other way while neo-Nazis openly brag that many police officers sympathise with their cause.
The youngest victim of Russian Nazi violence was only 9 years old: in February 2004, Tajik girl Khursheda Sultanova was stabbed to death in front of her father by a gang of ten St. Petersburg Nazi skinheads.
The court sentenced the main defendant to only five years in prison for "hooliganism", while his co-defendants received terms of up to two years. This is just one of countless examples of the Russian authorities' treating neo-nazi murders as "hooliganism".
While up to 12,000 neo-Nazi skinheads live in Moscow alone, they are estimated to total 70,000 in all of Russia today - that’s half of the world's Nazi skinhead population.
Some cities and towns are so heavily controlled by fascist street gangs that they have become virtually unlivable for minorities.
An Amnesty International report noted that: "The response of the Russian authorities to the problem of violent racist attacks has been grossly inadequate. The violence is out of control." Since the report was released in April 2006 the problem has become worse.
The Russian authorities tolerate neo-Nazi rallies yet suppress pro-democracy demonstrations. Earlier this year, 5,000 neo-nazis legally marched through the centre of Moscow giving fascist salutes.
Racism in Russia is fuelled by mainstream politicians and their xenophobic rhetoric. The national parliament, Duma, has become the main bully pulpit for racists and antisemites to disseminate their hateful views. Duma membership confers immunity from criminal prosecution, including for violating Russia's laws on hate speech.
We can no longer remain passive. We must urge Russian authorities to acknowledge the crisis and systematically crack down on neo-Nazism:
Xenophobic politicians and officials must be singled out by name.
Law enforcement officials who deny clear evidence that neo-Nazi gangs pose a serious threat to public safety must be publicly reprimanded or removed.
Russian media need to have regular access to hate crimes trials in order to discourage judges from giving neo-Nazi thugs lighter sentences than ordinary criminals.
Federal and regional authorities must systematically crack down on neo-Nazi gangs. Proactive police measures against neo-Nazis should be encouraged and rewarded by federal officials.
Join us in creating a campaign that will raise awareness of the problem. We need to put international pressure on the Russian government to face up to the crisis.
We encourage you to organize solidarity demonstrations near the Russian embassy or consulate in your town.
We encourage you to write readers letters to newspapers and magazines, or write articles for whatever publications you may be involved in.
We encourage you to do whatever you feel it takes to draw massive attention to the issue.
Send us your email address to join our mailing list. We will keep you up to date with any further developments both in Russia and internationally.
This is literally a matter of life and death.
