An interesting investigative report by the BBC on the treatment of foreigners seeking asylum in Russia echoes a steady rise in extremism under the oligarchy of Russian Prime minister Vladimir Putin. Check out the 2007 Pod from Current TV on the right. I visited Russia in the summer of 1987 as part of a high-school trip when it was still the Soviet Union. While Russia had a much stronger "law & order" central government authority back then and I met many, many cool Russian men and women of all ages; I still saw evidence of the kind of blanket racism directed against people of color the report talks about.
A Russian professor I had dinner and conversation with told me that Russian racism against people of color usually stems from resentment rather than the kind of indoctrinated, systematic racism based on ignorance (birthers) and fear one finds in the US.
When the Soviet Union was at the height of it's ideological and Cold War battles against the West in the 60's/70's, they made huge efforts to forge ties with poorer African, South American and Caribbean nations in an effort to extend their sphere of Communist/Socialist influence and gain access to the wealth of minerals, oil, gold/precious metals and crops. One of the results was that the Soviets allowed thousands of Africans to come to the Soviet Union and attend their best universities for free. Many working class Russians were locked into a rigid class system (despite Communist propaganda that touted an equal "worker's state"..total BS, never existed) that left them shut out of being able to send their kids to the best universities to become engineers, doctors, scientists, lawyers, musicians etc to gain entry to the "privileged class". Only rich and influential Soviets could send their kids to those schools - with rare exceptions (i.e children of high-ranking military officers, gifted athletes etc.)
So when many Russians SAW Africans in their country, they had a "built-in" internalized resentment towards them that was only magnified by the stark difference in skin color, race, language and physical characteristics. They saw these Africans as having access to privileges they themselves couldn't afford, and they hated them for it. It's still happening.
What's sad is Russia is such a rich, beautiful nation with a rich cultural history that stretches across music, literature, science and math. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, you saw the lifting of a heavy blanket of authority that had kept regional conflicts subdued under the proverbial "iron fist". The conflicts in Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia for instance, exploded after the Soviet authorities departed and we all know the horrible ethnic cleansing, murder, torture and violence that resulted from simmering conflicts between religions and peoples that stretch back centuries that were allowed to rage.
Clearly Africans (or African-Americans) Cubans are NOT the only victims of racism within Russia. Nationalist movements and extremist groups that embrace violent Neo-Nazi ideology and fascism (curious given that ACTUAL Nazis murdered tens of MILLIONS of Russians in WWII...yes, racism is THAT ignorant) in recent years have targeted Jews, Muslims, political opponents of Vladimir Putin, journalists, human rights activists, foreigners and other ethnic minorities from various parts of the former-Soviet Union.
What frightens me is how some Russian state authorities quietly tolerate these groups, refuse to persecute them and essentially condone this behavior by doing very little about it. There was an excellent article on the bbc Website yesterday about how Russia treats foreigners seeking political asylum; housing Africans in leaky, cheap, substandard trailers in one of the poorest and most remote regions in Russia; people fleeing violence, civil war or worse for a chance to work and live in peace - worth a look to see how Russian immigration authorities "welcome them".
2 comments:
Well then maybe Africans should not be so stupid as to seek asylum in Russia! Who are you? Some whiny old black lady crying 'bout racism and how da gubamint don' gibs u enough stuff?
Many people in the US are sick of degeneracy promoting left wing social engineering. I wouldn't mind a little fascism if got the streets cleaned up and and filled mass graves with morons like you.
Thanks for the response "Comrade" it's always nice to get feedback.
The mindless stupidity of your uninformed opinions are the very reason I blog about the kind of deep-seated hatred and bigotry that warp the minds of cowards such as yourself.
A wannabe goose-stepping dimwit poser like you wouldn't understand fascism if it walked up and bit you on the ass; you simply toss the term around to justify your bitterness and fear.
To answer your misplaced assumption, no I'm not an elderly black woman. I am an African-American man who not only put himself through college, I've worked my whole life - and about the only thing I've ever gotten from the government is my Social Security card, passport and a yearly tax bill.
I've also traveled to Russia and stood before the REAL MASS GRAVES of tens of thousands of innocent Russian men, women and children who died at the hands of REAL Nazis during the Siege of Stalingrad during World War II.
When you callously suggest that you "wouldn't mind a little fascism" - you not only insult the memories of millions of people who've lost their lives at the hands of actual fascists, it simply reveals to the readers of this blog that you have little to no understanding of history.
When you talk about "degeneracy promoting left wing social engineering" it's obvious you've been brainwashed with the kind of ignorant propaganda specifically designed to manipulate disenfranchised loners like you searching for meaning in their lives.
But I don't blame you, I feel sorry for you - you're simply a byproduct of something you don't yet fully understand. -CG
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