#172: Neo-Nazism in Russia

Many people in Kyrgyzstan are learning more about neo-Nazism in Russian because of increasing number of cases of murder and violent attacks againsts Kyrgyz immigrant workers in Russia. Yesterday the Kyrgyz State TV had a story about a young Kyrgyz construction worker, whose brother's dead body was found just outside St. Petersburg. Last week several diaspora groups in Russia issued a statement expressing growing concerns for security of ethnic Kyrgyz working and living in Russia, who are being attacked by neo-Nazi groups. Many of Kyrgyz workers are Russian citizens by now (up to 1 million Kyrgyz citizens are in Russia right now).

Last year my cousin went to St. Petersburg looking for a job. After three months of working at a construction site, he escaped. He came back to Bishkek with strong anti-Russian sentiments because of all the hardships and humiliation he encountered there. He said he avoided walking on the street because of fear of the Russian police, who usually extort money, or the skinheads who could attack even in the metro.

The usual Kyrgyz response, which is mostly a Soviet response, is never talk about. Deny that the problem of neo-Nazism exists. Instead, explain these attacks as petty crime or hooliganism. I observed this on a popular Kyrgyz Internet forum. All of the responders outright denied that this problem existed. In less than 30 minutes, the whole topic was closed by the moderators who said that it was provoking an inter-ethnic (Kyrgyz vs. Russian) conflict by trying to discuss this issue. Then today I read an article about a Tajik worker who defended a Tuvan student (Russian citizen) from a skinheads attack in Moscow metro. There too most of the comments denied that the problem existed.