Russia

Police Say Moscow Blast Was Racist Attack

Police investigating the explosion on August 21 (RFE/RL) August 22, 2006 -- Russian police have arrested two students who they believe were responsible for an August 21 blast at a crowded market in the Russian capital that killed 10 people and wounded more than 50 others.

Moscow chief prosecutor Yury Syomin said the two admitted they committed the act "because there were many people of Asian origin" working at the market.


Five of those killed at the Cherkizovsky market are believed to be from China, and one from Vietnam.


Investigators are still identifying the others.


Terrorism and a dispute between criminals had been among the possible explanations being investigated by police.


(Interfax, ITAR-TASS, AFP)

Epidemic Of Hate

Epidemic Of Hate

Yusuf Sultonov, whose 9-year-old daughter was beaten and stabbed to death in St. Petersburg on February 9, 2004 (TASS)

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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