Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union, DC
Aug 23 2005

Russian Analyst Comments on Recent Anti-Polish Attacks in Moscow

(August 23, 2005)
Gazeta.ru
August 20, 2005 Kirill Kharatyan article: “Who Are These Russians,
for Whom…”

The incident with the Poles, exactly three of which were beaten in
Moscow makes me uneasy. It was as if it was in response to the three
students from Russia that got it from the Warsaw skinheads.
Supposedly it was by chance, although how one can distinguish a Pole
from a non-Pole on the Moscow streets is totally incomprehensible.

Even if he, God forbid, were to say something in Polish, I am almost
certain that very few of the Moscow residents capable of beating
someone just like that (because they did not even take anything away
from those who were beaten), is able to distinguish Polish from Czech
or Croatian. Thus I see direct intent in this incident: somewhere
there are agents, those who want to take revenge, who evidently
believe that they should aid the helpless state respond in a fitting
way to… well I do not even know to what. Moreover, one may recall
that in Russia we have always related to the Poles with suspicion –
both when they conquered us (there will even be a holiday here on 4
November marking the liberation of the country from the
Polish-Lithuanian invaders), and when we conquered them and crushed
the Warsaw Uprising.

Here some fresh data from sociologists and human rights advocates has
been dug up: it turns out that sixty percent of the residents of
Russia possess xenophobic sentiments. The majority of those polled
say Russia is for the Russians.

This is quite understandable logic, This is the reflection of army
hazing on society as a whole: we are Russians, we have been here a
long time, therefore everyone else is human dirt, which we are ready
to use out of the goodness of our hearts for various dirty jobs, but
do not let them dare imagine that they can marry here, that they have
some kind of rights here and that they can walk around here like they
were at home.

On one hand, one may reply to this idiocy saying in essence that
there are no Russians, that this is a gigantic mixture of Slavic,
Finno-Ugric and Turkic tribes, which occupied the territory of all
these tribes, that genetically a native resident of Arkhangelsk
differs as much from a native Rostov resident as much as he does from
a black. But at the same time Arkhangelsk and Rostov residents are
considered to both be Russians. Here is still another argument: the
majority of Russians consider themselves to be Orthodox – but then
the Savior said: there is neither Jew nor Greek and commanded one to
love his neighbor like himself.

On the other hand, why does one get so worked up because the Poles
beat up Russians there? If Russia is for Russians, then does not one
have to assume that Poland is for Poles? These Russians got around
there, and that means that it is necessary to relate to them the same
way that we relate to Poles, Azerbaijanis and blacks.

Now let’s imagine what would happen if xenophobia in the form that
exists in Russia now were to spread outside of its borders. Once
again a recent incident: some kind of madman knifed eight people in
the area of the square of three train stations, of which three were
Armenians and another three were Azerbaijanis. That means in response
we should get two each Russian embassy employees in Armenia and
Azerbaijan knifed, as well as one journalist in each of these
countries.

Arguments that he was insane do not work: Poles in Warsaw also said
that those who attacked the children were scum that exists in every
society and – by the way – very quickly got on their trail.

The investigation of the Moscow incidents has still not led to any
results, and I predict that, there will not be any. That is, it is
quite possible that they will find someone and there should be a
severe punishment of this unfortunate declasse element, but this will
hardly be the source of the idea of a retaliatory and symmetrical
beating of the Poles.

However fallout from this event, the influence of this unpunished
symmetry certainly will remain. For they somehow talked rather
little, unwillingly and under the gun about this event in society, in
the mass media and in official statements. In Russia they know very
well how to understand what the government wants in actuality and
what it talks about pro forma. That means the people will understand
correctly: dislike of Poles and (more broadly) xenophobia is our
method.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress