Heighten Kremlin- After the attacks at the concert venue near Moscow, some people are saying things against migrants. This worries others because they fear it could lead to conflicts between different ethnic groups in Russia.
Ethnic Tensions Heighten Kremlin’s
At a ceremony this week near the music hall where a terrorist attack happened, a famous rapper who supports the government cautioned against spreading hate based on race or extreme political views.
During a televised meeting about the attack, Russia’s top prosecutor, Igor Krasnov, promised that his team was making sure to focus on stopping conflicts between different ethnic and religious groups.
When President Vladimir Putin talked about the tragedy last weekend, he said he won’t let anyone spread hate, panic, or discord in our diverse society.
After the recent attack near Moscow that left 139 people dead, the Kremlin keeps worrying about something. They’re afraid the tragedy might cause conflicts between different ethnic groups in Russia. Even though there’s no proof, Mr. Putin and his security team are blaming Ukraine for being involved in the attack. Meanwhile, online, people are using the fact that the four suspects arrested are from Tajikistan, a mostly Muslim country in Central Asia, to spread hate against migrants.
Mr. Putin faces a big challenge because he’s busy with the war in Ukraine. Many of the soldiers fighting and dying for Russia are from Muslim minority groups. Also, a lot of the people working to keep Russia’s economy going and its military supplied come from Central Asia.
A lot of people who strongly support Mr. Putin’s invasion are Russian nationalists. They use popular blogs on the Telegram app to promote war and share xenophobic messages since the attack began.
“We need to close the borders as much as we can, if not completely. The current situation proves that Russian society is in a critical state.”
The Kremlin is trying hard to balance things. They want to please those who support war by promising to crack down on migrants, but they also don’t want tensions to get out of control in society. In October, there was a scary incident when a group of people, who were against Jewish people, rushed into an airport in Dagestan, a mostly Muslim area in Russia, to confront a plane coming from Israel.
“The people in charge think this is a really big, serious problem,” explained Sergey Markov, a political expert who used to work for the Kremlin, in a phone call.
Millions of migrant workers and minority Russians are stuck in the middle. They’re experiencing more racial profiling on the streets, which was already a problem even before the attack. Svetlana Gannushkina, a human rights advocate in Russia, said she’s rushing to assist a Tajik man who was recently arrested because the police are targeting Tajiks based on appearance.
“They want migrants to serve as soldiers and workers for the Russian Army. And when they need to combat terrorism, they’ll target these Tajik migrants.”
Last year, almost a million people from Tajikistan, a country with about 10 million people, went to Russia for work, as per the government’s numbers. These workers are part of the millions of people from Central Asian countries who work in Russia, doing jobs like delivering food, building things, and working in factories. They play a big role in Russia’s economy.
A manager of a food business in Moscow, who employs Tajiks, said that the atmosphere in the city feels similar to the 2000s. In the past, Muslims from the Caucasus region experienced significant discrimination due to terrorist attacks and conflicts in Chechnya. Tajiks in Moscow are feeling very worried and scared, so much so that they’re avoiding going outside altogether. The manager didn’t want to reveal her name because she was afraid of what might happen if people found out she spoke to a Western journalist.
“There’s already a shortage of workers because of the war in Ukraine,” she said, referring to the Russian military operation. “And it’s about to deteriorate further.”
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For nearly 25 years, Mr. Putin has faced challenges with ethnic tensions. He’s used these tensions to benefit Russia’s position globally. His journey to power was marked by conflict in Chechnya, a mostly Muslim area. Russia harshly fought separatist and extremist groups there. He’s also stirred up separatist movements in regions like South Ossetia and Abkhazia in Georgia. By taking sides in ongoing disputes, he aims to increase Russia’s power and influence.
The Russian government is trying to show people they’re tough on migrants. A lawmaker suggested banning gun sales to new Russian citizens. The top prosecutor said crimes by migrants went up by 75% in 2023 but didn’t give details. He said they need to find fair solutions to keep people safe and use foreign workers wisely.
Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it has made it simpler for migrants to become Russian citizens. This is mainly because the military needs more soldiers for the conflict in Ukraine. News reports in Russia often talk about police raids targeting migrant workers, making them sign up for military service.
Tajik people living in Moscow are scared of being sent back to their home country and also worried that they might be forced to go to Ukraine for work. Saidanvar, who is 25 years old and works as a human rights activist, recently left Moscow. He doesn’t want to use his last name to stay safe.
He mentioned in an interview that Tajiks are deeply afraid that Russian authorities could deploy numerous Tajiks to fight as a form of punishment against our community.
In his speeches about the war, Mr. Putin often talks about Russia being made up of many different ethnic groups. In March 2022, he mentioned some of these groups, saying, “I am a Lak, I am a Dagestani, I am a Chechen, an Ingush, a Russian, a Tatar, a Jew, a Mordvin, an Ossetian.”
Mr. Putin often blames Russia’s enemies for trying to create trouble among different ethnic groups in Russia. For example, when there was a riot at an airport in Dagestan in October, he wrongly accused Western spy agencies and Ukraine of causing it.
He’s focusing a lot on his reaction to Friday’s terrorist attack, which the Islamic State says it did and US officials say was done by one of their extremist groups. On Tuesday, the leader of Russia’s domestic spy agency suggested that Ukrainian, British, and American spies might have been involved.
It seems like the Kremlin wants people to be mad at Ukraine for the attack and also wants to show they care about migration issues.
“Ms. Gannushkina, the human rights defender, said they will blame the Ukrainians while targeting the Tajiks. It was obvious right from the start.”
According to Mr. Markov, who supports the Kremlin, there are disagreements within Putin’s security team regarding migration policies. He mentioned that officials who are against immigration clash with those in the military and industry sectors who rely on migrant workers.
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