Russia: Information from the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) representative in Moscow on the situation of Jews

The following information was provided by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society's (HIAS) representative in the former Soviet Union in a meeting in Moscow on 9 October 1996. Additional information was provided to the DIRB by the representative on 30 July 1997. The opinions expressed in this Response are those of the source. 

HIAS has clients from all over the former Soviet Union. Approximately 40 per cent of them come from Ukraine, 27 per cent from the Russian Federation, the balance come from the other republics, with Belarus leading that group. HIAS still receives clients from Central Asia, the Caucasus (except Armenia), Moldova and a few from the Baltics.

General Situation of Jews in Russia

        With the advent of perestroika, government sponsored anti-Semitism greatly subsided. At the same time, Jewish groups all over the country started to self-organize. They began opening synagogues and community centres and started publishing literature on Judaism. Essentially, the world has witnessed a rebirth of Jewish life in the former Soviet Union after seventy years of suppression of all religious activities.

The synagogue is the centre of Jewish communal life. The closing of a synagogue makes it impossible to maintain community ties and religious life and activities. Under the Soviet regime, there were two synagogues in Moscow, now there are three. With so many Jews emigrating from Russia and with lapses in the observance and maintenance of religious customs over the past few generations, it is surprising that there has been a revival of Jewish religious and cultural life.

The central government has become more receptive to the Jewish community. On 8 October 1996 there was a dedication of a synagogue that was attended by the Prime Minister. It  was a very important event because it was probably the first time that a high-ranking government official admitted that there is anti-Semitism in Russia. According to the HIAS representative, the Prime Minister said something like "unfortunately the seeds of anti-Semitism planted in the past continue to sprout and we must do everything to stop it." At the same time, anti-Semitic policies have survived in a number of government agencies and at local levels. 

The situation of Jews has been affected by nationalism filling the ideological vacuum created by the demise of the Soviet state. This has occurred throughout history when an artificially imposed ruling ideology ends. Nationalism is becoming a serious driving force in Russia.

One does not have to travel very far outside Moscow to see that the changes in the capital are not at all reflected in the rest of the country. Just as New York is not the United States, Moscow is not Russia. If you travel by car for four or five hours outside of the city, you are back in the Soviet Union, both in terms of the physical environment in dilapidated Russian towns that are in the grips of economic depression, and in terms of the mentality that rules these places. That is why the communists and nationalists are making such progress in the provinces and why the threat of communists and nationalists seizing power in Russia is still very real. Despite Yeltsin's win in the elections, three points must be made. First, the communists still control the parliament. Second, the results of a series of recent gubernatorial elections have been about half for the ruling elite side and half for the other side, the red-brown coalition (see below). Finally, there is still a great deal of uncertainty about Yeltsin's ability to complete his term and who will succeed him.

The Emergence of the Red-Brown Coalition

        The term red-brown coalition has been coined to describe the merger between the communists and the nationalists, including extreme nationalist groups that are anti-Western and that openly advocate violence, anti-Semitism, and sometimes anti-market attitudes. A market economy is not a guarantee of a free society, but it is a prerequisite for one. 

It is difficult to say to what extent the nationalists are united as a single front. Just as the communists were not fully united before the presidential elections, the nationalists are not really united either. Unification of these groups is difficult as every leader of a nationalist group wants to become an important member of the government and perhaps president of Russia. However, what is now evident is that there are working relationships between various groups. These groups include neo-Nazi parties: they have swastika-like emblems, a Nazi philosophy, and organizational structure; they are heavily militarized; they wear black uniforms; they try to maintain public order; they hold marches, wave flags, etc. In short they are doing exactly the same thing that the brown-shirts did in Germany in the late 1920s. These groups can sometimes be seen, for example, on trains or in parks maintaining public order. Many of these groups have formed security firms. With turf wars, assassinations etc. going on, security firms have become an important component of one's safety. There is a Russian expression which translates "Who is your roof?", which means who is covering or protecting you. Sometimes off-duty police are hired as guards. Sometimes security firms are organized along party lines. For example, Russian National Unity is known to be very physical and combat-trained. It provides security services to any businesses who wish to hire it and sometimes, even to those who do not want to hire it. So there is a whole range of more or less similar right-wing fringe Nazi-type groups that are very often closely associated with fringe communist groups that are as violent.

Then there is another category of mainstream nationalists and communists. Many of Gennadi Zuganov's pronouncements about Jews are almost exact quotes from Adolf Hitler. There was a very comprehensive study done on what Zuganov says and what Hitler said about the Jews and there are striking similarities. In the last presidential elections when the choice was clearly between Yeltsin or Zuganov, the vote of the nationalist coalition was split between these candidates. This means that the nationalist trend, or movement, straddles the two groups in the struggle for power. Nationalism is becoming a much more pronounced trend since the elections, both in the opposition and the government. Anti-American, anti-Western sentiment has increased as has anti-Jewish sentiment in the sense that Jews are often identified with the West and as being pro-West, as a sort of fifth column within the Russian Federation. That is the situation at the political level.

Grassroots Anti-Semitism

        Street level anti-Semitism has always existed in Russia. If anything, it has become stronger since the demise of the Soviet Union because public discipline has waned. Certainly under the Soviet Union, one could not go to the centre of Moscow and sell fascist literature and Nazi marching tapes as they can and do now. All communist rallies, including the ones that take place almost across the street from the Duma and a few hundred metres from the Kremlin, are accompanied by a group of book sellers. Included in their literature are many anti-Semitic publications. These publications can be bought at book markets in Moscow, or at any rally. There are some 150 periodicals today in Russia that are extremely nationalistic, anti-Jewish and that call for violence. Many street vendors of anti-Semitic literature do a brisk business. A number of Russian Orthodox priests also support and facilitate its distribution to their congregations. Some of the highest officials in the Russian Orthodox church, including the late-Metropolitan Ioann of St. Petersburg and  Metropolitan Kiril of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, and the current head of the Church's publishing department are known for their anti-Semitic views and support such extremist propaganda.

Article 76 of the criminal code condemns anti-ethnic propaganda, as does a presidential decree, but these are not implemented. Public prosecutors and police forces are not enforcing the law. The key to understanding the situation is to realize that for the most part, the security services and government ministries are staffed with the same people who were there during the Soviet era.  There is little doubt in anyone's mind that in many of the security forces, law enforcement agencies and bureaucracy there is a great deal of support for the communists and nationalists, including support for some of the more extreme groups.

The severe economic crisis in the country increases the support for these groups. The most severe problem is a periodic non-payment of wages, sometimes for six months or more, to industrial workers and social sector employees (teachers, medical personnel, etc., as well as serious arrears in the payment of pensions to the elderly. The closing of large factories which in some cases may be the sole employer in a town poses another problem. It is not surprising that economic hardship creates disenchantment with the political system and this plays into the hands of some very active nationalist groups. The threat of some kind of nationalist government, or a government built on nationalist lines is more frightening than a return of communism. 

Most people are interested in only one thing: how to survive and feed their families. If they are feeling somehow trapped, and someone comes to them and says that everything will be alright if they just beat up Chechens, or Jews, or Negros, or another scapegoat, then they  may well resort to doing that. That is how propaganda works. There is a very thin layer of very rich Russians, but the vast majority cannot afford to buy the food and goods that are available. They are very dissatisfied with the system.

The Russian-Jewish Congress

        There is a distinct group of Jews, composed of younger people, who managed to adapt to the changing situation in Russia and who are active in business. They do not want to leave, they think that the Jewish community in Russia is there to stay and that the community will reconstruct itself. This group is making great strides. There is a group of Jewish businessmen in Russia that has formed the Russian-Jewish Congress, a well-funded umbrella organization. It is internally funded by attracting several wealthy Jewish businessmen to the board and collecting several million dollars. The president of the Russian-Jewish Congress, for example, owns a bank, a newspaper, a magazine and a very successful television station. The Russian-Jewish Congress is attempting to undertake a number of religious, educational and cultural projects. However, its influence and reach remain limited. In effect, all Jewish organizations in Russia, including the Russian-Jewish Congress involve a very small percentage of the country's Jewish population (according to some estimates, not more than 10 per cent.)

Attacks on Jewish Property

        Attacks on Jewish communal property have taken place in several Russian cities. In 1996, they included the bombings of two synagogues in Moscow and of the Jewish community centre in Yaroslavl, the burning of a synagogue in Astrakhan and of two buses belonging to Jewish schools in Moscow.

In connection with the bombing in Yaroslavl, a 29-year old unemployed member of an ultra-nationalist group was convicted of damaging property and illegal possession of weapons. Other crimes remain unsolved, along with most other terrorist attacks and violent crimes occurring in Russia today.

Several days before the June 1996 presidential elections a swastika, a hangman's noose and the words, "Kikes, you will all die in January," were painted on the wall of the Moscow Choral Synagogue. Similar anti-Semitic graffiti appeared on other communal buildings in Moscow, as well as in St. Petersburg, Magnitogors, Smolensk, Orsk and other cities.

Desecration of Jewish cemeteries and individual graves has occurred in St. Petersburg, Kursk, Tambov, Nizhny Novgorod, Rybinsk, Makhachkala and other cities. Frequent and numerous attacks on personal property belonging to Jews were also reported in many cities in the country, including some form of vandalism involving country houses, businesses, city apartments and vehicles. In most cases this was accompanied by anti-Semitic graffiti painted at the scene of the crime.

Jewish Fears and Perceptions

        Gunfire, explosions and contract killings in Moscow and other cities is a common occurrence. The police do not operate in an effective way and there is no adequate mechanism for conflict resolution within the parameters of the law; people get tied up in courts, the court system is inadequate, the laws are not enforced. Human life is full of conflicts, and there is still turf war going on. The strong are trying to divide the spoils: real estate, control of businesses, etc. There is virtually not a business in Moscow that does not have its own private army, or is not paying protection money to someone, or both. That is a fact of life.

How does all this affect Jews? They are afraid. Not just afraid in business, but afraid in general—of going to school, going to work, crossing the street, passing by Nazi demonstrations.

It is difficult to understand what goes on in Russia below the surface. The West carries news items of major events in the country, like elections, Yeltsin's illness, the war in Chechnya, etc., but they do not cover the everyday problems such as hearing racial slurs in the store when going to buy milk, or being stopped by a couple of drunks on the street or having to put up with problems at work or from neighbours. These are the things that are important for the average person. There is no set perception on the situation. Anyone who analyzes it draws conclusions based on his or her perceptions, especially in such a large, diverse and dynamic country as Russia. This is really a country in the middle of the most significant change in its recent history.

What sets Jews apart from other people in the Russian Federation in their fears and treatment is firstly the long history of grassroots and official anti-Semitism and secondly the use of the "Zionist conspiracy" theory by the nationalists. Jews are identifiable, as are other minorities. Westerners may have difficulty in telling if someone is Jewish but in Russia, it is often as easy as it is to tell if someone is from the Caucasus. Names are often a give-away, the shape of your nose, the shape of your ears. This is true, it is a fact of life in Russia.

Protection

        Jews who feel harassed may have no alternative but to leave Russia. In general, they would not go to the police because they would not expect the police to help or they may even fear that the police may take the side of the perpetrator. The police are often involved in criminal activity or at least in covering up criminal activity. There are often reports of police officers being fired and arrested for corruption, etc. but it is not clear on whether they are actually being prosecuted and jailed. Because of the state of the security forces, there is no recourse for Jews. As far as the Jewish community is concerned as a source of assistance, in spite of the strides the Jewish community is making in organized life. In most places, Jewish organizations are weak, underfunded, often at war with local authorities over property reinstatement, etc. Consequently, with some exceptions, intervention of the Jewish community on the behalf of a family would not bring about the desired effect.

As mentioned earlier, Article 76 of the criminal code has only been applied once since it was passed six years ago. In that instance there was prosecution and conviction. That is one conviction versus hundreds, if not thousands, of incidents when it should have been used.

The fears of people are real, the achievements of the state are real. Russia is the largest country in the world and it has only been on this course for five years, it takes time for social change, to change people's perceptions of reality, and to change social habits. And it takes even more time if you have politicians telling you the perceptions of Jews are right, that they are responsible for all the problems of Russia, that there is a Zionist plot, etc.

The representative provided the following publication and articles to the DIRB which are available at the IRB's Resource Centre in Ottawa:

Moskovsky Komsomolets. 17 May 1996. Evgeny Karamyan. "Little Eagles Learn to Shoot." excerpts translated by L. Terlitsky.

Notes from Moscow. 17 September 1996. No. 27. Leonard Terlitsky, HIAS Representative in the FSU.

_____. 25 August 1996. No. 26. Leonard Terlitsky, HIAS Representative in the FSU.

_____. 4 July 1996. No. 25. Leonard Terlitsky, HIAS Representative in the FSU.

_____. 20 May 1996. No. 23. Leonard Terlitsky, HIAS Representative in the FSU.

_____. 26 April 1996. No. 22. Leonard Terlitsky, HIAS Representative in the FSU.

_____. 28 March 1996. No. 21. Leonard Terlitsky, HIAS Representative in the FSU.

_____. 18 March 1996. No. 20. Leonard Terlitsky, HIAS Representative in the FSU.

_____. 11 December 1995. No. 16. Leonard Terlitsky, HIAS Representative in the FSU.

This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Reference

Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS). Moscow. 9 October 1996. Interview with representative in the former Soviet Union.