Racist tensions are growing in Russia, particularly in large urban centers like Moscow that host huge communities of darker-skinned and often Muslim “migrants” from Russia’s impoverished and strife-torn north Caucasus region, as well as millions of “guest workers” – who often live in legal limbo – from the now independent republics of former Soviet Central Asia.
Off and running in the presidential election that is now just over a month away, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has penned a lengthy article on nationalism, potentially Russia’s most explosive issue.
In the article, Mr. Putin warns that nationalist agitators, both those representing the ethnic Russian majority and those speaking for the country’s multitude of small minorities, are growing voices of destruction that threaten to drive Russia down the path of a Soviet-style breakup.
It’s Mr. Putin’s second program statement in less than a month, reportedly written by three speechwriters and republished on his official campaign website. Experts say it raises some very real dangers posed by Russia’s ethnic and religious complexity, but offers only more state control and curbs on democracy by way of solution.
Among other things, Putin calls for tougher controls on internal migration and illegal immigration from outside Russia, a clampdown on “separatist” political parties, and the creation of a new state agency to regulate interethnic relations. He suggests language testing for immigrants, to make sure they speak Russian, and also calls for creation of a list of 100 books that embody the “self-identity” of Russia, which would be mandatory reading for every Russian student.
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