15.06.2005 Neonazism, Xenophobia, Anti-Semitism in Karelia

Swastika, Nazi and xenophobic graffiti and leaflet on dwelling houses, graveyards, garages, fences, doorways and the other places of our town, that humiliate national dignity and are aimed at stimulating national, racial, religious hostility and hatred, had been usual things for a long time. People, passing by the attribute of the regime, that killed million of people, looked indifferently. Government also did not want to note the symptoms of aggravated social illness of the country that won the Nazi German many years ago! Only small groups of young enthusiasts fought with the manifestations of xenophobia in Petrozavodsk by colors and brushes. There also were activists from the Karelia regional department of the “YHRG” and Youth anti-fascist center, which belongs to the M. Kolbe republic museum in memory of victims of fascism, among them. These raids were done not seldom: local skin-heads expressed their ?aeiaaeiiaiaaenoie?aneea acaeyau without a rest, moreover they had chosen not only outlying districts. According to the statistics made by the Moscow office ii i?aaai ?aeiaaea, Karelia level with Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Novgorod, Volgograd is one of ten regions with the highest number of registered acts of anti-Semitism in 2004. Sometimes the government understands all horror of facts like that. For example, the chairman of the Saint Petersburg legislative council Vladimir Tulpanov sent official appeal to members of the conference “Lessons of the war and problem of neo-Nazi in the modern world” , which took place the 23 of April. There were a lot of famous i?aaicaueoieee and the author of this article. In the letter Mr. Tulpanov emphasize that “Your action is very important – you create the space of peace and tolerance. You help the country to find the most suitable measure of agreement (harmony), social confidence. You managed to make the civil society and government to understand, that people’s rights and its observance, tolerance became compulsory conditions of effective development of the country, economic development, social stability and person’s secure. We can’t talk about further existence of Russia without observance of people’s rights, onoaiiaeaiey ii?i aa?ioa?ieiinoe, peaceableness. One of the standards of the Charter of the UN…………………………………………. ”.
Semen Charnii in his report about activity of the most widespread youth extremist’s organization – so-called skin-heads – said about difficulty of the problem. According to his opinion, skin-heads are guilty of the majority of murders, which are made in Russia because of the national hatred. Moreover, the speech is not about niiioaiiue, but about premeditated attacks. Despite activation by the police struggle with extremists, in some regions the sad tradition, when policemen try to cover motive of national hatred in rimes by defining skin-head’s actions as ooeeaainoai. One of the main reason is that they don’t want to spoil the statistics of exposure grave crimes.
Famous murder of Nikolai Girenko, the Master of Science of History, senior scientific worker in SRI, famous anti-fascist and i?aaicaueoiee hasn’t been still uncovered. He was the main Russian judgecal expert in neo-Nazi cases, worked out the program of socio-humanitarian investigation as a source of proof. There had been no researches like that in literature before him. There hadn’t been even generally acknowledged terms. His elaborations made work of the police and law-courts easier and let them institute legal proceeding against people, who really stir up international discord. The essence of his method includes finding out definitions, descriptions…………………………………………………..
In fact, militia and prosecuting magistracy had to realize the existence of the problem and take all due measures to solve it after repeated appeals by our and Jewish religious communities to these bodies about crimes, made because of the national hatred. Thus, vandals haven’t attacked the Jewish graveyard in Petrozavodsk for even more than six months, in spite of the fact, that the graveyard was a favorite place of pilgrimage of skin-heads and other members of white-power community, who draw swastika and quoted anti-Semitic speeches of butchers of the Third Reich.
Skinheads have their own ideology – to beat Gypsies, Africans, Asiatics, Caucasian, and Jews. Skinheads – is the most primitive group of Nazi descendants. The government hadn’t resist then till now. Moreover, their ideology is supported by some governments. The former officer of the Committee of State Security and current scientist and lawyer Oleg Karataev wrote in the new magazine “Admiralteistvo”: “Russian people had been building their state for 1000 years and some other nationalities helped them or had a neutral position or created obstacles… National feelings to our enemies becomes stronger, and attitude - irreconcilable”. In connection with celebration of the 6th anniversary of victory in the 2nd World war, city government with the help of i?aaicaueoieee made corresponding organs find fascist inscriptions and paint them over. The police also were vigilant and arrested two students, who tried to stick up leaflets with Hitler’s portraits and inscription “Come back, Father!”.
Skinheads are not rarity in Karelia. They can even not look like they used to: shaved heads, military uniform or short jacket “bomber”, braces, shoes “Dr. Martens” with iron noses, tattoos and the other attributes, but the main indication is low mental level and actions which are aimed at arousing racial, national or religious discord. They are inclined to violence, humiliation of national dignity. By the way, one of the most often used symbols among skinheads is “88”. Latin letter ‘h’ is the 8th in the alphabet and the 1st in the words “Hail Hitler”. In spite of the official prohibition, there also exists the “Russian national unity” (RNU). From time to time, these three letters emerge on hoses walls so as one of the most popular slogans among nationalists “Russia is for Russians” and there has lately been found another slogan included regional aspect “Karelia is for Karelian”. RNU appeared the separation of the unity “Pamyat’” in the 1990s. RNU has constant relations with priests of ROC and members of RNU follow old, medieval forms of Slavonic Orthodox. They show aggressive attitude to democrats, Jews, Gypsies, etc. The leaders of RNU suppose that so-called national power in Russia must belong to national hierarchy under the control of the leader of the whole nation. They believe, that this structure meet historical specific of Russian nation. Moreover, there exist mature anti-Semites, who express their dissatisfaction with political regime by giving it a terse characteristic – “bullshit”. Mature and young are consolidated by anti-American ideas. They see the USA as a source of the world capitalistic evil and neiienoneie yeniainee.
For what reasons the youth goes in skinheads? Why the society does not see a difference between the civil protest and an ordinary criminal act? Why till now so Adolf Hitler is popular, films and books about which have constant commercial success? Certainly, all matters at formation of the person. It and the social validity, uncomfortable, to modern measures, at overwhelming number of people, psycho-age features, education in family and school, school, high school. And if with such convinced racists how skinheads, with their spontaneous and unpredictable "protest actions", illnesses of growth which expensively manage to all society, all is clear, what a position of the overwhelming majority of the citizens far from extremism from which tacit consent nationalist associations modern Ball by leaps and bounds grow, not meeting almost any resistance and condemnation?
The great demand for ideology of the Third Reich is not casual. The society, having times of enormous changes and difficulties, searches easy decisions of social problems. As a matter of fact, the most part which has left in the basket a new way of life of the population addresses to ideas of social justice. It searches and finds the reasons of the disappointments outside of itself, creating " an image of the enemy ", taking thus on arms ideology of national socialism with its romantic aesthetics and rhetoric (only applicable to modern realities it is far not always: for original German Nazism Slavs, among some other people, were essences of the second grade). And such charismatic leader as Hitler, without the amendment on consequences of realization of the ideas, and considering all it, - to imagine similar is impossible - will be perceived as the figure of planetary scale capable suddenly to win all malicious and to put things in order. From here popularity of those politicians which use nationalist, xenophobic rhetoric.
Still recently in Petrozavodsk some backward deputies till now operating Questioning of deputies of city counsil has shown full indifference of the overwhelming majority of them to the given problems. But not only the youth as it is accepted to name, from group of risk is subject extremist, xenophobic to bents. Quite safe, on their background, young men, those who can be carried to representatives of middle class, pupils in Petrozavodsk high schools or already having higher education as negatively, as a matter of fact, concern to some nationalities and the states to what interrogations and the questioning spent by our organization, and also results of monitoring testify. Special hatred in them is caused the gipsy, by Jews, Chechens, Americans. For them the first are all is universal the criminals, engaged the drug traffic, doing not wish to study and work; the second - greedy and on the mind, ready on all for the sake of a profit; the third - terrorists; The fourth - " the fat, sick, stupid Philistines, bearing to the world only McDonalds, poor belief of idiots in a supernatural essence with beard Hendalph, the buckets with nuts of mark " Ford ", primitive insurgents where one fattened believer, the impudent idiot and, in combination, the super-hero, destroying all bad uncles, alone rescues mankind from threat of universal scale, and are done with it some times in a week ". And, certainly, authors of similar words deny completely any democracy in America, being afraid of occupation of territory of Russia by her: " I am the unequivocal Slav, should I be the slave of afro-Americans ? " Presently demand for ideology of nationalism huge. That’s the picture of modern political movements and parties to Leonid Stonovu, the international director «the Bureau under human rights and observance of legality in the former USSR " sees. The Communist party during Stalin - Hrushevskii - Brezhnev - Andropov - Chernenko era had been the ideological instrument of the anti-Semite state. Frank nationalists from the right wing of communist party openly express anti-Semitic points of view. Sometimes the leader of the party Gennady Zyuganov maintains anti-Semit words. The second large Communist party - "Labour Russia " (Victor Ashshlov) - more Stalin rhetoric is present almost at each speech of its leaders, as well as in their newspapers. Ideologically Anpilov's anti-Semitism does not differ from a position of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. Russian Liberally Democratic Party (RLDP. Vladimir Zhirinovsky) and Russian Public Union (Sergey Baburin) often oppose " prevalence non-Russian " in business and official structures, against " international neiiecia ", support a priority for ethnic Russian in all state bodies. From the newspaper "RLDP", " Our time " and "Time" extremist ant-Caucasian both anti-Semitic statements and sights constantly extend. National-bolshevists Party (Edward Limonov, the newspaper "Eeiiiea") - one of the largest nationalist "revolutionary" organizations. One of its anti-Semitic myths - Jews have stolen everything, and Russian live as if they lived in Africa. These three sets can be characterized as imperial national patriotic. The ideology of so-called ethnic nationalists comprises strong and aggressive anti-Semitism, including ideas about " the world Jewish plot ", Christian anti-Semitism, absolute departure of Jews Russia, many of them are followers of plans of Hitler about " the final decision of the Jewish question ". These nationalists can be divided on two groups: " Old right ", taking for the sample pre-revolutionary i?aai?aaeeaeuiua the organizations, and " new right " where racists enter, national socialists, iaiycu?ieee and others. Despite of small number of party Eeiiiiaa, it borrows special, rather nationalist niche in a political spectrum with the ideology representing a specific cocktail from communistic and fascist ideologies. They combat against democratization of Russia and at a household level, and in minds of Russian people. Many researchers have come to conclusion, that the iaoeiiae-Bolshevism is simultaneously and extremist right ideology, both things in common between the right and left iaoeiiae-extremism. The nationalism is inherent in all national patriots without any exception, but their spectrum is rather wide. The newspaper "Put" propagandizes new Euroasian thinking. A.Prokhanov and A.Dugin try to rise above usual Russian nationalism, representing itself as nationalists nonexistent " the Euroasian nation ". iaoeiiae-i«?y?No??O?an the Party tests nostalgia on unity of Russian people. This party thinks imperial and great-power categories. We can define such ideology as nationalism of a certain global ethnos. Almost all fascist groupings plan the future state system as racist, aimed on discrimination and suppression of ethnic minority. Object of such iaoeiiae-chauvinism can be various people, first of all Jews and natives from Caucasus, the gipsy. Hatred to them has various "reasons". If Jews - " traditional enemies " hatred to eaaeacoai though took place in old Russia, but never got such scales, as last decade. Since times of reorganization it became one of the main phobias. iaµ?«?a?-patriotism has turned to racism in a broad sense this definition. These parties and movements carry all aggressive antiwestern, especially antiAmerican, an orientation. For them the West - a source of all defective and the main reason of all troubles of Russia. The West associates with liberalism which is considered by national patriots as the main enemy. Militarism - the general feature of all "patriotic" parties and movements. They dream of restoration of Russia as military super state. National patriots show the big interest to Slavic antiquities. In their ideology there is no real economic doctrine. There are attributes Bowes of political extremists with criminals, and also examples of promotion of criminals in a policy. The group (YHRG) " sounds alarm not only Youth Human Rights Group - Karelia. A Lot large of the human rights organizations, Russian and international, are seriously anxious by distribution of xenophobia, racism and nationalism to our country. " Improvement of a political life, development of a civil society is required. The publishing program for overcoming occuring myths and prejudices is necessary na?u?ciay. For now the state indifferently looks at growth of nationalism. More than 300 incidents because of ethnic hatred annually occur in Russia. And only two ten criminal cases reach court. The shaft of the literature of rabble-rousing character has overflowed the country. Numerous publishing houses in greater circulations print books on "scientific" racism. In libraries of schools and high schools all is more than books of the nationalist maintenance. Interrogations show, that popular persons in Russia became Hitler and Stalin. In the Ministry of Internal Affairs there is no uniform understanding of a problem. One militian chief holds a meeting with the antifascist organizations and expresses concern in occasion of distribution of fascism, and its colleague this very day declares by radio, that skinheads are simply football fans. Probably, such occurs because of insufficient knowledge. When to the assistant to the public prosecutor of Century Kolesnikov have shown video recording demonstration of "party", that a little .ieioo after display iio?ynaiii was silent, and was then called, that " at all knew that at you is such! " According to the Center of new sociology, in Russia it is totaled more than 55 000 "skinheads". According to the Moscow bureau under human rights, monthly " skinheads" arrange 30-40 pogroms; for last 3-4 years the number of the attacks accomplished on racial ground, annually increases on 30 %. Unfortunately, the label " the person of the Caucasian nationality " is still applied. In the majority of areas of the Russian Federation there was a set of negative stereotypes concerning this or that national group. These groups, as a rule, are in adverse position in all territory Are in adverse position in all territory of the country, and the racist attitude to them carries the old and deeply taken roots character. This phenomenon causing anxiety is marked in last report across Russia, prepared by the Commissioner of EU under human rights in which it is spoken about " feeling of suspiciousness if not barefaced hatred or contempt for natives from Caucasus ". On fresh data, 58 % of our citizens support the nationalist slogan " Russia for Russian ". If even for a minute to imagine realization of these utopian words that it will mean for the multinational Russian state? At the best - branch of Northern Caucasus, Tatarstan, a part of Kareliya, in general all national republics. In the worst - war of all against all. What is done by public organizations for struggle and preventive maintenance of these negative phenomena? Last three years primary activity IIA is concentrated just to the prevention of a racial discrimination, nationalism, eneaiioiaee, neo-fascism, anti-Semitism and xenofobia in Kareliya. Except for already mentioned actions on painting fascist inscriptions and swastikas, our experts were read at schools of lecture on dangers of neo-nazism, auioneaaony antifascist and i?aaicaueoiay the newspaper " Hour the Zero ", street actions against racism and xenofobias are spent, the site http: // right.karelia.ru which the Best regional project on a problematics of formation of tolerant attitudes in a society means of a global network the Internet ", by the way, in December, 2004 became the winner in competition of social advertising ", spent under the order has been created and at support of the Ministry of Education and a science of the Russian Federation, and in January, 2005 There was iaa?a?aai the letter as " the best work in the field of mass-media and information technologies of " III International competition of works " Lessons of the Holocaust - a way to tolerance ", spent by Fund " Holocaust ". Us monitoring xenofobia, a racial discrimination and anti-Semitism in Petrozavodsk under the project " Public campaign on counteraction to racism, xenofobia proceeds, to anti-Semitism and ethnic discrimination in the multinational Russian Federation " which is supervised " by the Moscow bureau under human rights " and is supported by the European Union. Certainly, our newspaper has arisen not on an empty place. There is a number of the reasons which have predetermined occurrence " Hour the Zero ". Not the secret, that recently is published by huge circulations the literature which basic maintenance is eulogy and rehabilitation of a mode which has established also to which Adolf Hitler served. Books on histories of the Third Reich, neo-Nazi newspapers, sites and so on is in great demand and, unfortunately, forms consciousness of youth with corresponding ideological and valuable installations which pour out in racial and ethnic hatred, fights and even murders. Threat of political extremism is quite real. The editions similar to ours, it is non-comparable less. In Kareliya it is the unique newspaper and a site which are concentrated to the report up to readers of objective knowledge of history and adequate representation about a reality. We speak about danger of ideology of neo-fascism, in fact the fascism is a policy of the terror based on lie and demagogy, we try to form at young men the tolerant attitude to eiaeiauaeyayuei, the heterodox. To put it briefly, we spend educational democratic work with youth. In conditions of weakness of democratic institutes there is a danger of transformation of fascism in real threat. The interrogations spent by our organization testify to necessity of such activity also. For example, eight-graders of one Petrozavodsk school on a question on the attitude to some nationalities not hesitating declared the hatred to them, comparing them with pigs, dogs and rats. Very often we collide with the present fascism in the Russian army. By virtue of closeness of system of a crime in army have accepted hardly probable not lawful character. The society is indifferent to problems of army while near to it there are the real iuoi?iua chambers and sadists in iiaiiao. The analogy arises by itself. In cA-40-N the peace population of Germany at all did not suspect that near to their residence existed a concentration camp of destruction. Ignorance of history can lead all world to accident. With the purpose of overcoming of short historical memory we have entered in the newspaper such headings, as " History of the Holocaust " and " History of political reprisals into the USSR ". On an example of the terrible facts and the events which are taken place in the middle of the last century in the Europe and Soviet Union, we impart to our readers democratic values, respect for the human rights, most important of them - to the right on worthy the person a life. Our newspaper can be used by teachers as the methodical grant by preparation of lessons. The big attention is given education of tolerance among youth. With this purpose we shall organize trainings and seminars ooy teachers and pupils. What is "tolerance"? " In the most simple and basic form tolerance is a recognition behind others of the right to respect of their person and self-identity. Tolerance is minimal requirements to public attitudes to not suppose violence and compulsion. Intolerance results from conviction of the person or nioeieoeuoo?iie groups that their system of sights or a way of life are the maximum in relation to system of sights, a way of life of other groups. The major purpose of education of tolerance consists in the statement of value of human advantage and inviolability of each human person. It is the central value in all theories and all international standards of human rights. Intolerance represents a symptom specifying presence dangerous for life of a society of illness - violence ", - the teacher of faculty of philosophy Iao?AO writes O.S.Martyanov. Deficiency of tolerance is felt everywhere. Even to address of Russian orthodox church as administrative organization the criticism in absence of tolerance is turned, and in fact than is more numerous and the faith is influential, especially it should be tolerant. " It occurs also because for present secular authority only one religious organization is perceived as the . And flock of other churches, and sectarians - they unless not citizens of the state? Meanwhile there is a point of view, that the abundance and popularity of sects in Russia is not that other as the form of the protest and charge the state which has generated conditions when people are ready to entrust themselves everybody because of impossibility adequately to arrange the life in existing social and economic conditions ", - summarizes O.S.Martyanova. Considering these circumstances, and also a multinationality of the Russian state, it is necessary acaaoaiii to approach to questions of teaching of such discipline, as " History and culture of world religions ", not doing an emphasis only on " bases of Orthodoxy ". Education of youth in spirit of tolerance " will promote the sanction of many problems in our society, based on ignorance or disrespect of traditions and cultures of other people ". Former Minister of Education Filippov recognized existence of a problem. In one of its applications it is spoken: " Aggression, hatred, national fanaticism lead to terrorism, to cruelty, to war. Abundantly clear, that the school should put in pawn in the person of a basis of tolerant behaviour. And though tolerance on the semantic value is wider, than interethnic tolerance, for a polycultural society sphere of attitudes between people of different nationalities, religions, education of respect for other people have key value. When in one class, in one audience beside schoolboys and students of different nationalities sit, they should learn to speak in one language - language of peaceful disposition, toleration, the consent and acaeiioaa?aiey ". Unfortunately, the present management of department does not give to this question of great value. The contribution to the general coin box of the affairs directed on eradication of neo-fascism, our partner organization " brings also the Karelian union of former juvenile prisoners of concentration camps of destruction in Germany ", created a museum of memory of victims of fascism of name M. Kolbe. We shall organize excursions for schoolboys and students in this museum. Meetings and leave nobody dialogue with victims of nazism and the Holocaust indifferent. It is one of the best ways of education of young citizens in spirit of tolerance, democracy and aversion of such ideologies, as fascism, racism, nazism and anti-Semitism. In our republic in the field of understanding and developments of democracy, the interethnic attitudes, the become frequent cases of display of xenofobia, racial and national hatred have seriously attended to an existing disturbing state of affairs also the western organizations, wishing to help us to adjust educational work among the population of edge. At once two funds have decided to support our work in it to year. It is Fund " Memory and the future " (Germany), the allocated 5000 euros on the project " Adjustment of democratic educational work and work with youth in Karelia " and the Commission on democracy of Embassy of the USA in the Russian Federation. The Russian education system poorly works by way of overcoming enaiioianeeo prejudices in a society, here and has been decided to organize trainings and seminars, lectures for teachers, schoolboys and students, and also a newspapers and the collection of clauses, involving as widely known experts, scientific, prosecute these subjects, and simply competent people, experts in the given area.
Maxim Efimov,
leader of the YHRG – Karelia.