Review of Moscow bureau for human rights

The tradition to mark the birthday of fuehrer of Nazi Germany Adolph Hitler with public actions in the USSR and then in Russia goes back to early 1980s. 

In April 1980 a small group of followers of Nazi ideology arranged a picket near Moscow choral synagogue. In two years, on April 20, 1982, the demonstration of a group of neo-Nazis at Pushkin square in Moscow took place. And though there were no demonstrations like this till 1987, there was a rumor every year before April 20 that “there would be a demonstration of fascists at Pushka”. The most active students gathered near the monument to the poet “to beat the Nazis” but did not find them there. 

The next public demonstration took place in Leningrad on April 20, 1987 when two columns of young people aged 17-22, with black shirts on and with swastikas on their sleeves, marched along Nevsky avenue and surroundings of underground station “Ploshchad vosstaniya”. On the same day similar demonstration took place in Peterhof. Simultaneously mass desecration of Jewish graves at Preobrazhensky cemetery in Leningrad took place. 

In 1998 representatives of radical nationalists disseminated an appeal where they promised to kill one African or Asian a day starting from April 20. In 2002 the embassy of Japan in Moscow received an e-mail message from some “skinhead Ivan” who announced that the skinheads would kill all the foreigners they would see in the streets of Moscow on April 20. 

As a result some embassies addressed the Russian authorities with request to secure the safety of their citizens due to the threats from skinheads. On April 17, 2002 the mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov stated to the journalists that the law-enforcement bodies of Moscow are ready for the most abrupt rebuff to any actions of extremists. Luzhkov called upon the members of extremist organizations to not participating in any actions. On April 16 the general public prosecutor of RF Vladimir Ustinov stated at the meeting with representatives of human rights organizations that he “kept the situation connected with possible provocations on the part of youth extremist organizations under his control on the threshold of Hitler’s birthday”. And deputy minister of home affairs of Russia colonel-general of militia Alexander Chekalin informed that on the morning of April 19 the minister of home affairs Boris Gryzlov signed an order about holding of special operation “Vortex-anti-extremist”. During the operation 399 teenagers were detained and 195 persons among them suspected of involvement in extremist groups were registered by militia. 

On April 21, 2007 a meeting took place at Slavyanskaya square in Moscow devoted to Hitler’s birthday. It was participated by such right-radical organizations as NSO, “Format-18”, Natstech, “Russian will”. The formal permission for the meeting was received by the “Party of protection of Russian constitution” (PZRK) “Rus” the backbone of which consists of former members of Russian National Unity (RNE) according to the data of nationalists themselves. The meeting was participated by about 150 persons, and NSO followers were one third of them. The leader of this organization D. Rumyantsev praised the leader of German Nazism in his speech as he “had armed himself with ideas of national-socialism, fought for his people and his state and made it liven up in several years”. He also called for “throwing the morals of hypocrites away, throwing the pity away” and actually threatened with transfer of national-radicals to terrorist activity. Actually after every speech the meeting participants raised their hands in Nazi salutation.

On the same day another meeting of nationalists took place at Pushkin square participated by the leader of organization “Slavic union” D. Dyomushkin. 

During “black” April days of 2002 Perm synagogue and office of Jewish community in Ulyanovsk were put to desecration. 

In 2004 the skinheads killed a worker-Tajik in Kirov during this period. Nizhniy Novgorod mosque “Tauba” was put to desecration. On April 22, 2004 the skinheads arranged a pogrom again in the Jewish community center in Ulyanovsk. The attack took place literally in half an hour after withdrawal of intensified militia patrol that was on guard near the building for several days due to the threat of neo-Nazi attack on Hitler’s birthday. 

In Ryazan and Orel the cases were recorded when representatives of diasporas did not leave their houses on Hitler’s birthday being afraid of the skinheads. 

On April 22, 2006 in the afternoon four students of Kostroma state university from China were beaten in the yard of one of Kostroma schools. On the same day in Moscow at the underground station “Ulitsa 1905 goda” a group of thugs burst into the coach shouting “Russia for the Russians!” and started beating a man with “Caucasian appearance” aged about 45. Another part of the group kept the coach doors until the beating participants burst out of it leaving the victim in blood and unconscious. 

Right on the platform of underground station “Pushkinskaya” in Moscow the 17-year-old citizen of Russia, first-year student of Moscow institute of management Vigen Abramyants was slaughtered. At one of Moscow streets unknown persons attacked two citizens of Tajikistan. One of them got 17 knife wounds and died. Another one was taken to a hospital with stab-cut wound of stomach by a Muscovite who was passing by. In St. Petersburg at underground station “Avtovo” three young people had beaten the citizen of Turkey Gul Orhan. 

At the Jewish cemetery of Omsk fascist swastikas were daubed on ten graves, in Orenburg a skinhead group attacked the synagogue. The skinheads also tried to arrange an attack on “non-Russian” students of Novosibirsk university. 

On April 20, 2007 in Mytishchi near Moscow a skinhead group has beaten a native of Kirghizia to death. On April 21, 2007 in Moscow a citizen of Tajikistan was killed. Skirmishes motivated by ethnicity took place on April 20, 2007 in Belorechensk (Krasnodar region). 

In 2008 April 20 and several subsequent days were marked with a series of attacks and desecrations motivated by xenophobia. 

On April 20 in Ryazan a 34-year-old native of Uzbekistan was beaten by a skinhead group. On April 20 in Penza a skirmish of Nazi-skinheads and anti-fascists took place, and one wounded skinhead was its result. On April 20 in St. Petersburg an attack on three young people took place; they were probably taken for the members of “antifa” movement. One of them perished and two were wounded. In Stavropol on April 20 two attacks were committed and native of Chechnya (who died from received wounds), native of Ingushetia and native of Azerbaijan became their victims. 

On April 22 in Volgograd a student – citizen of India was beaten. On April 24 in suburban electric train of Vladivostok about 10 ten young people attacked two citizens of Uzbekistan in an organized way. Besides, a passenger who tried to protect them was beaten. 

On April 20, 2008 a portrait of Hitler and inscription “Hitler was right” appeared in Moscow on the building where the Jewish Anti-fascist committee led by S. Mikhoels worked in 1942-1948. In Khimki near Moscow the nationalists drew swastikas upon the specimens of weapons and warlike equipment exhibited at Victory square. In Nizhniy Tagil on the night of April 20 the fascist swastika appeared on turret of the monument to legendary Soviet tank T-34 and the date of Hitler’s birthday: 20.04. 1889 - appeared on the cast-iron plate of its pedestal. On April 20 in St. Petersburg an attempt to launch a panel with the picture of swastika tied to balloons was recorded. The attempt failed as the balloons caught on TV antenna. 

The situation did not change in 2009 either; several violent and ideological actions of the extreme right concentrated around the date of April 20. On April 16 in Moscow an attack on two students from Tajikistan was committed. One of them perished and another one was severely wounded. 

On April 17 in Moscow an attack on a native of Tajikistan was committed. 

On April 18 a citizen of Uzbekistan was killed by skinheads right in the yard of the building of Butyrsky office of public prosecutor. 

On April 19 in Domodedovo near Moscow a citizen of Uzbekistan was killed. 

In mid-April the citizen of Tajikistan, ethnic Uzbek B. Allarbiyev was beaten in electric train near Moscow. 

On April 20 in Ryazan the skinheads has beaten a student - citizen of Cameroon. 

On April 21 in Samara a citizen of Kyrgyzstan was beaten. 

On April 22 a group of fans of football club “Nizhniy Novgorod” attacked the visitors of a concert of Scottish punk-group “Exploited” that took place in Rocco club. Pursuing the punks who were returning from the concert, the right pelted the bus at Minin square with bottles and other passengers also suffered due to this. 

On April 20 at Balino cemetery (Ivanovo region) 73 tombstones on Moslem graves were desecrated and damaged. 

About April 20 drawings of swastika, portraits of Hitler and xenophobic graffiti were recorded in Volgograd. 

On April 22 it became known that neo-Nazis managed to draw the portraits of Hitler and inscriptions “SS” using stencils all around a quarter in St. Petersburg. 

Kaliningrad nationalists planned to arrange arsons of cafes belonging to “non-Russians” on April 20. But these plans were hampered by militia. 

Starting from 2002, before April 20 the employees of law-enforcement bodies are transferred to the regime of intensified service. In Moscow colleges where foreign students study (Russian academy of people’s friendship, Financial academy, Medical academy named after Sechenov) they get permission not to attend their classes and are recommended not to go out of their hostels to the streets. Later on the colleges in St. Petersburg and Nizhniy Novgorod also joined this practice. 

Moscow bureau for human rights, Moscow anti-fascist center, Fund “Holocaust”, Association of migrants of Russia call upon the law-enforcement bodies of the country again to suppressing resolutely any incidents and crimes motivated by hatred and manifestations of neo-Nazi ideology. The departments involved in enlightenment and education should enhance the upbringing of civil consent, rejection of hostility motivated by ethnicity or religion. Human rights organizations, mass media should propagate the universal values and ideas of tolerance more actively, carry on the monitoring of incidents and induce the authority to resolute response to any manifestations of racism and neo-Nazism and to their prevention.