Anti-Migrant Riots in Russia: The Mobilizing Potential of Xenophobia

Author(s): Marlene Laruelle
Editor(s): Stephen Aris, Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perovic, Heiko Pleines, Hans-Henning Schröder, Aglaya Snetkov
Series: Russian Analytical Digest (RAD)
Issue: 141
Pages: 2-4
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen; Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, George Washington University
Publication Year: 2013

Octobers ethnic riots in Biryulyovo, a working-class district in southern Moscow, can be seen as a turning point in the history of xenophobia in Russia. The watchdog group SOVA classifies violence against people identified as foreigners, which also includes legal Russian citizens of North Caucasian origin, as the third-most common type of violence in Russia. This comes after violence toward new religious movements (NRM) and people belonging to the LGBT community. However, the political significance of ethnic violence outweighs that of actions against religious and sexual minorities, which remain marginalized and without the capacity to garner collective reaction. Ethnic violence is most important in terms of its role in reshaping Russias national identity, even if in this domain, the three categories of violence have followed similar trajectories. Religious, sexual, and ethnic minorities are explicitly excluded from the national community, which is implicitly defined by affiliation with Orthodoxy, moral values symbolized by heterosexuality, and Russian ethno cultural identity.

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