Norway Artctic Ocean Sweden Finland Belarus Ukraine Pacifc Ocean RUSSIA In Search of Kazahstan China Japan Mongolia Happy Gypsies Persecution of Pariah Minorities in Russia COUNTRY REPORTS SERIES NO. 14 Moscow MAY 2005 A REPORT BY THE EUROPEAN ROMA RIGHTS CENTRE European Roma Rights Centre IN SEARCH OF HAPPY GYPSIES Persecution of Pariah Minorities in Russia Country Report Series, No. 14 May 2005 Table of Contents Copyright: © European Roma Rights Centre, May 2005 All rights reserved. ISBN 963 218 338 X ISSN 1416-7409 Graphic Design: Createch Ltd./Judit Kovács Printed in Budapest, Hungary. For information on reprint policy, please contact the ERRC 5 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements....................................................................................................7 1. Executive Summary.............................................................................................9 2. Introduction: Anti-Romani Racism....................................................................19 3. A Short History of Roma in Russia ...................................................................43 4. Racially-Motivated Violence and Abuse of Roma by Law Enforcement Officials..............................................................................................................55 4.1 Racial Profiling ..........................................................................................57 4.2 Arbitrary Detention....................................................................................61 4.3 Torture and Ill Treatment of Roma by Police ............................................64 4.4 Fabrication of Incriminating Evidence against Roma ...............................72 4.5 Abusive Police Raids.................................................................................78 4.6 Arbitrary House Search .............................................................................83 4.7 Extortion of Money by Police and Other Officials....................................84 4.8 Conclusion: Suppression of Justice ...........................................................89 5. Discrimination against Roma in the Criminal Justice System...........................97 5.1 Denial of Fair Trial ....................................................................................98 5.2 Denial of Legal Remedy..........................................................................109 5.2.1 Failure to Investigate Complaints against Police............................112 5.2.2 Failure to Investigate Complaints against Non-State Actors..........115 6. Abuse of Roma Rights by Non-State Actors ...................................................121 7. Hate Speech against Roma in the Media .........................................................131 8. Access to Personal Documents........................................................................141 8.1 Access to Residence Registration............................................................141 8.2 Access to Legal Status .............................................................................149 9. Discrimination in Access to Social and Economic Rights...............................157 9.1 Access to Adequate Housing ...................................................................158 9.1.1 Discriminatory Refusal by Authorities to Provide Roma with Adequate Housing...................................................................160 9.1.2 Forced Evictions .............................................................................163 9.1.3 Refusal of Authorities to Legalise Romani Housing ......................169 9.2 Access to Education.................................................................................171 9.2.1 Lack of Personal Documents as a Barrier to Education .................173 9.2.2 Failure of Authorities to Provide Transportation to School............174 9.2.3 Racially-Based Abuse of Romani Children at School....................176 5 In Search of Happy Gypsies: Persecution of Pariah Minorities in Russia Acknowledgements 9.3 Discrimination in Access to Health Care.................................................179 9.4 Discrimination in Access to Employment ...............................................181 9.5 Discrimination in Access to Public Places...............................................194 9.6 Conclusion: Turning a Blind Eye ............................................................195 10. Abuse of Romani Women’s Rights..................................................................197 11. Roma Rights in the Context of the National Cultural Autonomy....................201 11.1 The First Roma Public Associations: From the Late 1980s to 1996 .......201 11.2 Path to Cultural Autonomy: Reasons for Adoption and Expectations of Roma..............................................................................203 11.3 Analysis of the Provisions of NCA Law..................................................205 11.4 Implementation of NCA Law: Roma NCAs and Their Achievement .....211 11.5 Amendments and Future of NCA Law ....................................................220 12. Conclusions .....................................................................................................225 13. Recommendations ...........................................................................................227 14. Bibliography ...................................................................................................235 15. Summary in Romani ........................................................................................243 6 7 In Search of Happy Gypsies: Persecution of Pariah Minorities in Russia Acknowledgements ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report was produced by staff, interns, consultants and volunteers of the European Roma Rights Centre. Savelina Danova/Russinova, Olga Demian, István Fenyvesi, Dimitrina Petrova, Leonid Raihman, and Tony Tashev conducted field research in Russia. Olga Demian, Leonid Raihman and Toni Tashev prepared a first draft of the report. Kristina Raducan and István Fenyvesi undertook research for the history chapter of the report. Azam Bayburdi and Olga Chashchikhina translated documentation from Russian. Nicky Torode drafted the chapter on the National Cul- tural Autonomy legislation and practice. Irina Sergeeva read drafts of the report and provided substantial comments. Savelina Danova/Russinova edited and expanded the first draft. Claude Cahn edited a number of sections of this report. Dimitrina Petrova copy-edited the final version and authorised the publication of the report. Nadezhda Demeter, Elena Marushiakova and Vesselin Popov read the history chapter and provided substantial comments and suggestions. The ERRC is additionally grateful to the following persons and institutions for their assistance in the course of preparation of this report: Ivan Barvalovsky, Nikolay Bessonov, Georgiy Chekin, Na- dezhda Demeter, Elena Konstantinova, Stephania Kulaeva, Viktor Karabanenko, Boris Kreyndel, Vasiliy Kutenkov, Vladimir Kutenkov, Pavel Limanskiy, Aleksandr Molch- anov, Moscow Helsinki Group, Ludmila Nefedova, North-West Center of Social and Legal Protection of Roma, Marianna Seslavinskaya, Romani Duma (Samara), Romani Duma (Tomsk), Romano Centro (Samara), Romano Kher (Moscow), Roma Ural (Eka- terinburg), Aleksandr Torokhov, Georgiy Tsvetkov, and Tsygane Kubani (Krasnodar). The ERRC also wishes to thank all Romani individuals who agreed to be inter- viewed, and whose testimony forms the basis of this report. This report was made possible by a grant to the European Roma Rights Centre by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom. 6 7 Executive Summary 9 Executive Summary “I travelled far down many roads, On my way I met happy Gypsies” Gelem, Gelem (Romani anthem) Why do you, Gypsies, go in the streets? You must hide yourselves from the police, why don’t you stay indoors? Look at me, I myself have darker skin and that is why I hide here in my office. Our whole life is entirely lawless, don’t bother yourself about it. A prosecutor from Southern Russia, reacting to a Roma complaint of police abuse 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) monitoring of Roma rights in Russia has revealed an alarming pattern of human rights abuse of Roma and other people perceived as “Gypsies”.1 The magnitude of the abuse is only comparable to that of the perpetrators’ impunity. Violence by state officials, paramilitary and nationalist-extremist groups, and discriminatory treatment of Roma in the exercise of civil, social and economic rights are aggravated by the complete absence of governmental action to address these problems. 1 The expression “Roma and other people perceived as Gypsies” is used in this report to describe those minorities on the territory of the Russian Federation who are perceived by the surrounding communi- ties as “Gypsies” (Tsygane in Russian). Most of these people are ethnic Roma and speak Romani. Apart from the more established Russka Roma and the other Romani groups scattered across Russia (Kalderary, aka Kotlyary, Lovari, Krymy, Plashchuny, etc.), there are small groups of Sinti who have moved eastward from Germany via Poland in the beginning of the 20th century; Armenian-speaking “Gypsies” called Bosha (aka Lomavtic); Karachi from the Caucasus area; Central Asian Gypsies Lyuli (aka Mugat), who come from Tajikistan and other parts of Central Asian and could be seen in numerous places inside Russia during the last decade, having arrived as permanent