Racism in Russia

They hate their "blacks" more than they hate Ukrainians

As you may have noticed, I read a lot of Russian sources, because even if I reject their point of view, I want to understand it. Which, I guess, is the exact opposite of what Noam Chomsky is doing.

There is a topic very vividly discussed by Russian bloggers that goes virtually unnoticed in the West. Before I describe it in more detail, a brief introduction and some context.

Russia is sometimes perceived as a country of no slavery and no racism. There are two reasons for this mistake.

First: racism in the West is widely treated as something to be ashamed of. Even the guy with a confederate flag on his bumper sticker will say something like “racist? MOI? how dare you accuse me of racism?”.

In the same time, the Russian racist will simply embrace it. “Of course I’m racist and you should be, too”.

Takier Karlsonov demonstrating his understadable inability to look at himself in the mirror - via Fox News

Second: Russia never had colonies in Africa, so Afro-Russian minority is small in number. Nevertheless, it exists and the persecution is surprisingly similar. In the Soviet Union there were lynchings with the typical KKK scenario: local thugs didn’t want African students to date white girls so they had to “teach him a lesson”.

However, slavery in Russia has always existed and it exists until this very day, although it was (and it is) based on the racist exploitation of other ethnicities. Russia did not import slaves from Africa on a mass scale simply because they take them from Asia. They still do.

Even today, it is the slaves who erect fortifications aimed to stop the Ukrainian counteroffensive. The slaves are mostly of Tajik ethnicity and once they are delivered to the Russian occupied territories, they can’t escape.

The September “annexations” happened only on paper. You cannot cross the Russo-Ukrainian border in Donbas or Crimea without passport control.

If your employer took your passport away or you have never had one in the first place, because you are an “illegal” - then you’re at the mercy of your employer. In the lawlessness of the “new territories”, he can literally kill you in and get away with it.

“Azamat, migrant from Kirgistan” is begging for help - he was forcibly relocated to Luhansk by his employer. “The laws of the Russian Federation don’t work there”, says the headline (it’s the quote from the video interview with Azamat). Via Radio Ozodi.

From what I see on the Russian blogs, the Tajik minority is the most hated one. Long before this war, Russian neo-nazi skinheads were forming vigilante gangs in order to “keep Tajiks in check” (just as any Ku-Klux-Klansman would have put it).

Again, while Tajiks are not African (they are of Persian origin), the language of Russian racism is surprisingly similar to that of the Western far-right. They even call their minorities “black” - or, to be more precise, “black-assed” (“chernozhopy”).

Recently in Chelyabinsk there were street clashes between Russian skinheads and Tajik self-defence youth gangs. The local court decided that the blame is entirely on Russians.

A Westerner might interpret it as a point of pride for Russia: “there are still judges in Chelyabinsk!”. But the Russian bloggers I follow, such as one Andrei Medvedev, read this as “guys, we are losing control of Chelyabinsk!”.

Andrei Medvedev in defense of Chelyabinsk “skinheads”. Can you read this word in Cyryllic? It is actually “skinhedov”. Sounds like a fake Russian name, but it’s plural accusativus. Due to declination, in Slavic languages one can be a “skinhead”, but if you arrest him, you arrest “skinheada”, if there’s more of them, you arrest “skinheadov”, you present charges to dativus “skinheadovi” (or plural: “skinheadom”), and if you call him, you should use vocativus: “o skinheadye!”.

When you read Russian bloggers you might think they are more afraid of Tajiks than Ukrainians. The war contributed to this in a paradoxical way.

The mobilisation caused a massive shortage of manpower for the economy. Able-bodied men either died in the war or fled the country.

This forced Russia to simplify the process of obtaining Russian passports. But who benefitted the most? Tajik illegals!

Three main countries of origin for new Russian citienship come from Tajikistan, Ukraine and Armenia - claims milbloger Michman Ptichkin

“Michman Ptichkin”, another milbloger, is heralding the alarming news: “70% percent of the new citizenships in Q1 2023 went to non-Slavic people!”.

To some relief of Russian bloggers, federal authorities conducted a crackdown on Tajik merchants on a market square in Chelyabinsk, arresting many of them. Again, please notice that it is not even implied that these merchants were guilty of anything else of just being Tajik.

That’s enough for the Russian bloggers to rejoice. “Finally we show them where they belong!”.

Raids against Tajiks in Chelyabinsk - via TG channel of Andrei Medvedev

While war seems to increase this hatred, it started long ago. Just like the whole phenomenon of Russian racism and nazism, it can be traced to the Soviet years.

One of the most important hero figures for the contemporary Russian nazists is one Maxim Martsinkevich. He started attacking Tajiks in late 1990s.

Convicted for hate related murders, he died in Chelyabinsk prison in 2020. His funeral was a mass rally for the Russian far right.

With the above context, I will now move to one particular Telegram statement I think you should be aware of. It appeared on a relatively niche channel called “Golos Velikorusa” (“The Voice of Russian Imperialist”) but it was widely reposted by more popular figures.

I will present my abbreviated summary (with key screenshots if you want to brush up your Russian):

One needs to remember that our immigrants are different than those in Europe. Migrants in Europe go there for welfare and their optimal strategy is to be quieter than water, lower than grass, and to be thankful for the better life for their children. If they behave disorderly, it’s purely for hooligan motives.

Our immigrants are different. They don’t come here for welfare, there is none. They come to work but it’s not that simple. It’s almost impossible to find employment on the street.

“Violence is their norm”, says Golos Velikorusa

As a result, every migrant in Russia is heavily dependent on their diaspora. Clan solidarity associated with ethnic violence is the only way to survive here. This is normal for them to use these methods when doing business. Migrant violence is systemic but we see only the tip of the iceberg.

What happens next? We are governed by ex-komsomoltsy [“post-Soviet bleeding heart liberals”] still believing in internationalism. They were too soft on Ukraine, they believed in Minsk agreements, and even today they refuse to acknowledge their naivety.

“We are governed by ex-komsomoltsy!”, complains Golos Velikorusa

The migrants constitute the only organised structure capable of serious destabilisation in Russian cities. All the West needs now are people speaking their languages. When the migrant riots spread, we will be flooded. And the ex-komsomoltsy will helplessly wonder on TV what happened”.

Once again I will emphasise that I am NOT presenting the “voice of velikorus” because I endorse his ideology. I just think that this is the part of Russian reality most people in the West are not aware of.