New SOVA Center Book Now Available
The English language book entitled :Xenophobia, Freedom of Conscience and Anti-Extremism in Russia in 2007;, edited by the SOVA Center, is as of now available.
Internet Forum Comments bring one Man to Court
In mid-July 2008, in the town of Aleksandrov (Vladimir region), a 23-year old man was charged for posting nationalistic comments on a forum, on the basis of Paragraph 1 of Article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code (condemning the incitement of hatred or hostility).
St. Petersburg Murder of Uzbek Worker Goes to Court
Four young boys are being brought to court, after the investigation of the November 2007 murder of an Uzbek worker in Repino was finished in mid-July 2008. All suspects are charged with incitement of inter-ethnic hatred and hostility (Article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code), and two of them, both minors, face murder charges (Paragraph 2 of Article 105).
Jehovah's Witnesses, considered "extremist' by the Russian authorities
At 11 o'clock, on July 16, 2008, the FSB searched a Jehovah's Witnesses' house of faith in Yekaterinburg, in the Sverdlovsk region. 18 believers who now face criminal charges were detained while preparing for the service, and were denied the use of cell phones so that it was impossible for them to contact their relatives or their lawyers. All biblical literature was confiscated from the church.
Education - The First Step towards Tolerance
If asked what a first measure would be to combat extremism among the population, many an informed observer would answer "education'. In St. Petersburg, parental meetings were held in April and May to discuss the ways to fight youth extremism.
Medvedev: :Russia sees it as its responsibility to counter the manifestations of neo-fascism;
On July 15, the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitriy Medvedev was received at the building of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Smolensk area of Moscow by the heads of diplomatic missions and representations of Russia abroad and within international organizations. It was during this encounter that the President outlined Russia's foreign policy priorities.
"Forbidden Art' Forbidden
On May 13, 2008, Yuri Samodurov, director of the Sakharov museum in Moscow, was charged on the basis of Paragraph 2, Article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code (incitement to national and religious hatred), for the 2006 exhibition "Forbidden Art'.
The DPNI Strives for Legality
On July 12, 2008, the congress of the Movement against Illegal Immigration (DPNI) decided to move from radical nationalism to "nationalism in the European sense'. A deep rift within the organization is however on the horizon.
