Russia Sentences Neo-Nazi Skinheads to Maximum Jail Time

In the BBC article, "Neo-Nazi Skinheads Jailed in Russia for Racist Killings", published on February 25th 2010, Artyom Liss reports on the conviction of a youth gang of "neo-nazis" that have been responsible for a number of brutal murders in recent months. The gang, populated mostly by teenagers, targeted people of Central Asian origin and beat them to death while filming the process on their phones and uploading the videos to the internet. However, these skinheads did not limit themselves to those who were irrefutably Central Asian. One could be eligible just by looking Slavic or speaking with the wrong accent. The gang has titled itself "The White Wolves" and they often accompany their killings with shouts of "Russia for the Russians!". Russian courts sentenced the gang leader to 23 years in prison, and 9 years for the other 8 captured gang members, the maximum legal jail time for juveniles. However, this is just one group. Skinhead gangs have been deemed responsible for over 70 deaths in 2009 alone, but this trial has served as an example and human rights activists have welcomed the sentence.

This story shows the upsurge in race related deaths in Russia as social cleavages deepen. While Russia is predominately Russian, the Soviet Union and its breakup brought many different cultures into the land. A religious cleavage has formed as well while Muslims continue to immigrate into a state that has traditionally followed the Russian Orthodox church. But the courts and government have gained a degree of legitimacy from their crackdown on skinhead killings.

Grade This Post