This database catalogs crimes against property, commonly referred to as vandalism, that have been interpreted as hate crimes by SOVA Center – that is, the acts we recognize as motivated by prejudice against a particular group (ethnic, religious, ideological, etc.), or by ideological motives typical of the ultra-right. Accordingly, such attempts can target religious or secular objects, both public and private. Our classification of a crime as motivated by such enmity does not necessarily align with its legal qualification, if any.

Data have been systematically entered into the database since 2007. The database does not include data from the republics of the North Caucasus and, until 2016, Crimea. Acts of vandalism committed for other ideological motives are also excluded.

Any number of database parameters can be applied as filters. Let us review some of these parameters.

The “Type of damage” categories may not cover all possible acts of vandalism, but we use this simplified classification

The “Period” field offers two modes for setting dates. In the default mode, you can select a specific year or a combination of year and month. Click the calendar icon to switch modes and set an exact date range with specific start and end dates.

“Object type” of religious objects is classified by religious denomination. State institutions and objects seen as ideologically hostile by the far right form a distinct category. “Other objects,” such as those linked to specific ethnic groups, can be religious or secular.

You can select the rows and columns for displaying the results, with any filter parameters available as row and column options in the resulting table.

You can also specify whether to use the minimum or maximum number of vandalized objects in the count, as in some cases the exact number was unknown and entered as an estimated range.

All table entries are clickable. Clicking brings up below the table a list of related news items from the website corresponding to the table cell value.

News releases about some acts of vandalism are not published, usually at the informants’ request, or because information is substantially incomplete. As a result, table entries may show a higher number of crimes than those described in the news items displayed below the table.