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Russian Nationalism and Ethnic Violence Russian Nationalism and Ethnic Violence Nationalism is now the dominant narrative in Russian politics, and one with genuine popularity in society. Russian Nationalism and Ethnic Violence: Symbolic violence, lynching, pogrom, and massacre is a theoretical and empirical study which seeks to break the concept of ‘ethnic violence’ into distinguishable types, examining the key question of why violence within the same conflict takes different forms at certain times and providing empirical insight into the politics of one of the most important countries in the world today. Theoretically, the work promises to bring the content of ethnic identity back into explanations of ethnic violence, with concepts from social theory, and empirical and qualitative analysis of databases, newspaper reports, human rights reports, social media, and ethnographic interviews. It sets out a new typology of ethnic violence, studied against examples of neo-Nazi attacks, Cossack violence against Meskhetian Turks, and Russian race riots. The study brings hate crimes in Russia into the study of ethnic violence and examines the social undercurrents that have led to Putin’s embrace of nationalism. It adds to the growing body of English language scholarship on Russia’s nationalist turn in the post-Cold War era, and will be essential read- ing for anyone seeking to understand not only why different forms of ethnic violence occur, but also the potential trajectory of Russian politics in the next 20 years. Richard Arnold is Associate Professor of Political Science at Muskingum University where he teaches comparative politics and international relations. He was the 2015 recipient of the William Rainey Harper award for Out- standing Scholarship and has published numerous articles in PS: Political Science and Politics, Theoretical Criminology, Post-Soviet Affairs, Problems of Post-Communism, Nationalities Papers, and Journal for the Study of Radic- alism. He graduated with a doctorate in 2009 from the Ohio State University and a BA in 2003 from the University of York in the United Kingdom. Europa Country Perspectives The Europa Country Perspectives series, from Routledge, examines a wide range of contemporary political, economic, developmental and social issues from areas around the world. Complementing the Europa Regional Surveys of the World series, Europa Country Perspectives will be a valuable resource for academics, students, researchers, policymakers, business people and anyone with an interest in current world affairs. While the Europa World Year Book and its associated Regional Surveys inform on and analyse contemporary economic, political and social develop- ments at the national and regional level, Europa Country Perspectives provide in-depth, country-specific volumes written or edited by specialists in their field, delving into a country’s particular situation. Volumes in the series are not constrained by any particular template, but may explore a country’s recent political, economic, international relations, social, defence, or other issues in order to increase understanding. Haiti: From Revolutionary Slaves to Powerless Citizens Essays on the politics and economics of underdevelopment, 1804–2013 Alex Dupuy Darfur’s Political Economy A quest for development Hamid Eltgani Ali Contesting Spain? The dynamics of nationalist movements in Catalonia and the Basque Country Edited by Richard Gillespie and Caroline Gray Catalonia: A New Independent State in Europe? A debate over secession within the European Union Edited by Xavier Cuadras-Morató Russian Nationalism and Ethnic Violence Symbolic violence, lynching, pogrom, and massacre Richard Arnold Russian Nationalism and Ethnic Violence Symbolic violence, lynching, pogrom, and massacre Richard Arnold Add Add Add Add Add AddAdd AddAdd AddAdd First published 2016 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2016 Richard Arnold The right of Richard Arnold to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. by Taylor & Francis Books Editor, Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia: Dominic Heaney Editorial Assistant: Eleanor Simmons British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-1-85743-859-8 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-31561-794-7 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Taylor & Francis Books Contents List of illustrations vi Abbreviations viii 1 Skinhead ethnic violence in the Russian Federation 1 2 “There is a war on our streets!”: Cataloguing skinhead violence 16 3 The theory of ethnic vigilantism and neo-Nazi violence 43 4 Unequal treatment: Meskhetian Turks in Krasnodar Krai and Rostov Oblast 85 5 The “Kondopoga technology”: Mobilizational dynamics of pogrom 108 6 Conclusion 137 Bibliography 148 Index 163 List of illustrations Figures 1.1 Axes and varieties of ethnic violence 8 2.1 “William Pierce” on wall in Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, 2015 19 2.2 Execution of “colonists” 23 2.3 Skinhead symbols in Krasnodar, 2007 24 2.4 Neo-Nazi violence by type and ethnic target, 2001–936 2.5 Ethnic groups targeted by neo-Nazis for pogrom-style violence, 2001–940 3.1 Typology of crimes of which ethnic groups are accused 55 3.2a Stereotypes as a percentage of criminal accusations (Jews) 67 3.2b Stereotypes as a percentage of criminal accusations (Africans) 67 3.2c Stereotypes as a percentage of criminal accusations (Caucasians) 68 3.2d Stereotypes as a percentage of criminal accusations (Roma) 68 3.3a Shoulder tattoo of interview subject A 74 3.3b Chest tattoo of interview subject B 74 3.3c Nazi insignia tattoos on hands of interview subject A 75 3.3d Nazi symbol and German-language tattoo on shoulder of interview subject B 75 5.1 Ideas of ethnic criminality present in mass media, by type of crime 132 5.2 Have you recently participated in hostilities toward people of other nationalities? 134 5.3 What do you think about the idea “Russia for Russians?” 134 Tables 1.1 Incidents of skinhead violence by year, 2001–95 2.1 Incidents of skinhead violence by year, 2001–931 2.2 Ethnic violence 2001–9 by type 34 2.3 Ethnic violence 2001–9, by type and ethnic target 34 3.1 Numbers of articles read by source 60 3.2 Coding guidelines and examples 63 3.3 Breakdown of accusations against ethnic groups 64 List of illustrations vii 3.4 Accusations of criminality against each ethnic group, by type of crime 64 4.1 Ethnic violence against Meskhetian Turks in Rostov and Krasnodar, 1991–2006 92 4.2 Number and type of source 96 4.3 Images associated with Meskhetian Turks 1997–2006, by media type 97 4.4 Analysis of criminal accusations against Meskhetian Turks in 100 Krasnodar Krai Abbreviations DPNI Movement against Illegal Immigration KKK Ku Klux Klan NGO Non-governmental organization RNE Russian National Unity RSFSR Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic RTR Russian Television and Radio SHARP Skinheads against Racial Prejudice Sova Sova Center for Information and Analysis UCSJ Union of Councils of Former Soviet Jewry UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 1 Skinhead ethnic violence in the Russian Federation On January 11, 2006 Aleksander Koptsev, a troubled youth suffering from an illness that would lead to blindness and mental distress, burst into a Hassid synagogue on Bolshaya Bronnaya Street in the heart of Moscow. The security cameras at the synagogue captured the entire incident.1 After entering the synagogue, 21-year-old Koptsev pulled out a knife and shouted “I will kill Jews!” He proceeded to stab nine parishioners before being wrestled to the ground by the Rabbi (see Bigotry Monitor, 2006: 6: 3). The ensuing police investigation found anti-Semitic literature at Koptsev’s apartment and pur- ported links between him and the international racist skinhead group Combat-18: Blood and Honour. At his trial, Koptsev said that he had gone into the synagogue to “kill as many Jews as possible.” The court sentenced Koptsev to 16 years in prison for attempted murder “motivated by ethnic hatred” but did not charge him with inciting religious or ethnic enmity (see Bigotry Monitor, 2006: 6: 13). Koptsev took his own life less than a year later.2 Most people in Russia expressed revulsion at the events, as indeed they would do anywhere. Yet some actually tried to invert the meaning of this event and present Russians as the victims. Russian State Duma deputy speaker Sergei Baburin from the Rodina (Motherland) bloc voiced such sen- timent when he charged that many of the accusations made against Koptsev were “Russophobic in essence,” implying that the media only cares about crimes committed against Jews (see Bigotry Monitor, 2006: 6: 3). Likewise former Motherland leader Dmitrii Rogozin blamed violent video games and pornography, claiming that the attack received extra attention due to the Jewish nature of the victims: “Obviously, the murder of a Russian is seen in Russia as an ordinary crime, while the murder of a minority is practically a crime against humanity” (Zavtra, January 19, 2006 in Bigotry Monitor, 2006: 6: 5). At the time of writing, Rogozin was Russia’s ambassador to NATO. Albeit not quite support for Koptsev, statements of this nature from officials of such high ranking in the machinery of the state are reflective of popular xenophobic sentiment in the Russian Federation.
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