SOVA CENTER FOR INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS Xenophobia, Freedom of Conscience and Anti-Extremism in Russia in 2007 A collection of annual reports by the SOVA Center for Information and Analysis Moscow May 2008 UDC 323.1(470+571)(082.1)”2007” BBC 66.094я43+66.3(2Рос),54я43 X44 X44 Xenophobia, Freedom of Conscience and Anti-Extremism in Russia in 2007: A collection of annual reports by the SOVA Center for Information and Analysis / [Alexander Verkhovsky, Contents Galina Kozhevnikova, Olga Sibireva; translation – I. Savelieva] – М.: SOVA Center, 2008. – 140 pp.: tables (Academic publication) Galina Kozhevnikova ISBN 978-5-98418-011-5 Radical Nationalism and Efforts to Counteract it in 2007 ............................ 5 This collection of reports summarizes all the major areas of work addressed by the Summary ............................................................................................ 5 SOVA Center for Information and Analysis in 2007. Manifestations of radical nationalism ...................................................6 The first report addresses pressing issues such as the growth of nationalism, hate crime, and the efforts of government and society to combat these problems. Annual reports on these Counteraction to radical nationalism ................................................. 31 themes are included in other collections published by the SOVA Center. Anti-fascist rhetoric used to discredit political opponents ................... 42 The second report focuses on the increasingly visible tendency to misuse legislation against what is now referred to as ‘extremism’. The third report explores various problems relating to freedom of conscience in contem- Alexander Verkhovsky porary Russia. This is the second annual report of the SOVA Center on this topic. These reports were compiled at the end of March 2008. This translation of the pub- Anti-Extremist Legislation, its Use and Misuse ......................................... 45 lished Russian text uses a modified Library of Congress system of transliteration for names The structure of anti-extremist legislation .......................................... 46 and publications, except where there is an established alternative spelling (e.g. Yeltsin, not El’tsin, Yabloko, not Iabloko). An analysis of 2006 amendments ....................................................... 53 An analysis of 2007 amendments ....................................................... 54 Unwarranted enforcement ................................................................. 59 This collection was compiled and published with the support of the National Endowment for Democracy Conclusion ........................................................................................ 77 The SOVA Center website, which includes publications and news, Alexander Verkhovsky, Olga Sibireva can be found at http://sova-center.ru Restrictions and Challenges in 2007 on Freedom of Conscience in Russia .... 80 Summary .......................................................................................... 80 Translation – I. Savelieva Editing and copyediting – S. Rock Legislation on religious organizations ................................................ 81 Design, cover design – N. Vinnik Layout – М. Gavrilova State patronage of religious organizations .......................................... 83 Difficulties with regard to places of worship ....................................... 85 Other examples of discrimination ...................................................... 88 1 Подписано в печать 30.05.2008. Формат 60х84 /16. Гарнитура Таймс. Печать офсетная. Бумага офсетная. Печ. л. 8,75. Уч.изд. л. 8,5. Тираж 300. Заказ . The situation in the army and the penitentiary system ........................ 91 РОО Центр «Сова». Адрес для писем: 103982, Москва, Лучников пер., д.4, под.3, к.2. Religion and secular education .......................................................... 93 Телефон/факс: (495) 730-34-13. E-mail: [email protected]. Веб-сайт: http://sova-center.ru Типография Россельхозакадемии. 115598, Москва, ул. Ягодная, 12. Insufficient protection from defamation and attacks ...........................97 Excessive measures aimed at protecting religious sentiments .............101 ISBN 978-5-98418-011-5 © Authors, 2008 – report texts © Vinnik N.V., 2008 – design Abuses linked to the ‘fight against extremism’ ...................................102 Appendices .................................................................................................107 Galina Kozhevnikova Appendix 1. Definitions of Extremism and Extremist Materials ...........108 Appendix 2. Crime and Punishment Statistics ......................................111 Appendix 3. Materials Found by Russian Courts to be Extremist .........123 Radical Nationalism and Efforts Appendix 4. Organizations Found by Russian Courts to be Extremist ...137 to Counteract it in 2007 Summary The 2007 results of our monitoring are disturbing. 1 Racist violence continues to grow at the same fast rate. Not only are neo-Nazi skinhead attacks increasing in number, but so are ‘everyday’ attacks motivated by ethnic and racial hatred. In contrast, the criminal prosecution of violent crimes has decreased for the first time since 2003. Right-wing radical groups remain active. In addition to organizing numer- ous, well-coordinated events, they are actively provoking ethnic conflicts and riots and are often in the public eye as major newsmakers winning media airtime. They come under little pressure from law enforcement and other government agencies responsible for monitoring their activity, while a certain ‘loss of mo- mentum’ discernible among the ultra-right in the second half of 2007 was due to internal conflicts rather than the government’s efforts to keep the ultra-right under control. Frequently it is government representatives, pro-government political parties and groups themselves who are responsible for provoking xenophobic sentiments amongst the general public. In 2007, this was witnessed in the anti-Estonian campaign, in a series of xenophobic and often explicitly racist public actions staged by pro-Kremlin youth movements and other, similar events. Indeed, in this respect the Kremlin was in direct competition with ultra-right groups. As before, the government sought to discredit political opponents by using anti-fascist and anti-extremist rhetoric, and also suppressed dissent via the 1 This report is based on monitoring conducted by the SOVA Center, details of which are available on our website (http://sova-center.ru). Please note that this report contains only partial coverage of issues related to religious xenophobia because these are addressed in detail in a separate report by A. Verkhovsky and O. Sibireva on ‘Restrictions and Challenges in 2007 on Freedom of Conscience in Russia’, below. This report also does not explore the use of xenophobic slogans in electoral campaigns, the subject of a further report currently being compiled at SOVA. Footnoted texts are available in Russian, unless it is stated that they are available in English. 6 Xenophobia, Freedom of Conscience and Anti-Extremism in Russia in 2007 Galina Kozhevnikova. Radical Nationalism and Efforts to Counteract it in 2007 7 improper application of anti-extremist legislation. The authorities invested where firearms were used (except in cases where the police uncovered racist considerably more effort in developing and refining this abusive practice than motives). Finally, we do not include victims targeted for being sexual minori- they did in suppressing truly dangerous manifestations of xenophobia. ties or homeless in our statistics. It should also be borne in mind that for a few Positive outcomes were few in 2007, but there were some. In particular, the months between mid-May and mid-September, the Russian mass media did definition of extremism was substantially streamlined and thus rendered more not report any incidents of hate crime – a phenomenon that we observed, but useful. However, the anti-extremist legislation remains riddled with defects, with are unable to explain.4 new problems emerging in 2007. The main positive development in 2007 was In 2007 there were numerous high-profile crimes connected with the ac- the substantial progress made in the prosecution of xenophobic propaganda. tivities of the ultra-right. Just as in the past, virtually anyone could be a target More cases were brought to court, and increasingly regional leaders of right- and a victim of neo-Nazi aggression: women and men, Russian citizens and wing radical groups were targeted. It remains to be seen whether this trend will foreigners, civil servants and migrant workers alike. A victim might be targeted continue. simply because ‘in the dark of the night, and without adequate light,’ they were ‘mistaken for a non-Slav’ – as happened in January 2007 in Ekaterinburg, ac- cording to the indictment read at the trial. Manifestations of radical nationalism These more high-profile cases included the killing of Stanislav Kore- Violence panov – a teenage skater from Izhevsk accidentally targeted by neo-Nazis hunting local antifascists – in the spring of 2007; the summer attack against Unfortunately, the year 2007 did not bring about any improvements Valentina Uzunova, a prominent expert in hate crime viciously beaten on the in the situation with regard to racist and neo-Nazi violence. At the time of eve of a trial in which she was to testify and robbed of the materials she was to publication (May 2008), we know of