Associated Press Worldstream
October 19, 2004 Tuesday 9:37 AM Eastern Time

Putin pledges to step up fight against xenophobia

MOSCOW

President Vladimir Putin pledged Tuesday to make a stronger effort to
stem the spread of xenophobia in Russia, where ethnic-based killings
and attacks on minority groups have become increasingly common.

Addressing a congress of Azerbaijanis living in Russia, Putin said
authorities in Russia have made “mistakes and flaws” in dealing with
the problem. “We need to analyze the situation and respond harshly,”
said Putin, who attended the congress together with Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliev.

“This is particularly important for Russia – a multiethnic and
multi-faith country,” Putin said. “Accord between different ethnic
groups is a corner stone of Russia’s existence.”

Azerbaijanis, the most numerous group of migrants in Russia at about
2 million, have been target often of ethnically motivated attacks.

“Not only the government structures, but the entire society must
respond immediately to any violence or religious intolerance,” he
said, pledging that the government would “consistently and harshly”
combat xenophobia.

Recent polls have shown a rise in xenophobic sentiments in Russia. In
one survey, about 60 percent of respondents support restrictions
against migrants from the former Soviet republics in the Caucasus
Mountains south of Russia – Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.

Rights activists estimate that there are about 50,000 neo-Nazis in
Russia, with Moscow and St. Petersburg home to their largest groups.
About 20 people have been killed in race-based attacks in Russia
annually in the past few years, and human rights groups say the
government does not do enough to prosecute such crimes.