The ethnic Armenian and Tajik communities say urgent action is needed to prevent the spread of xenophobia.
Russia has seen a number of deadly attacks on minorities, dark-skinned foreigners, and Russian Jews in recent months. In the most recent, a Tajik man and an Armenian were killed in two separate incidents earlier this week.
In another incident late on April 26, youths in the southwestern Siberian city of Orenburg vandalized a Jewish synagogue, leaving anti-Semitic graffiti on its walls. A 15-year-old was detained.
(AFP)
Epidemic Of Hate
EXTREMISM ASCENDANT: More than half of Russians have xenophobic views, according to a report published in August 2005. In the report, rights groups say that -- despite progress in some areas -- racism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism remain rife in Russia. But what worries watchdogs most are recent moves by nationalist-patriotic movements to form paramilitary groups....(more)
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