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Russia is not the most tolerant place on Earth. While back home, I'm still waiting for my "white privilige" check to arrive in the mail, this is one place where my appearance has benefited me (unlike in the American higher education system).
What I'm about to describe, obviously, doesn't apply to all Russians. To date I've met some very accepting and open people. However, there is a definite racist strain in Russian society.
This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who's studied Russia's historical treatment of Jews. It is the country that invented the pogrom, and forged the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. However, I can't really speak about anti-Semitism in Russia, because I have yet to meet a single Russian Jew over here. Basically, the Russian jewry, starting in the 70's, said "Screw you guys, I'm goin' home." Home meant Israel and the US. Things seem to be improving, as some are in fact returning to Mother Russia.
Those singled out most for harassment are blacks. There are quite a few African students here on scholarship, most I've met are at the Mining University (mineral extraction, oil, etc...). In my experiences in France, the US, and here, Africans are, as these things go, about the single friendliest bunch around. I'm also always happy to meet Africans, because they usually speak either English or French, both languages that I actually speak.
Usually, whenever I come across an African, in the course of standard getting to know you conversation, we happen across the topic of "How do you like Russia?" Which invariably leads to me saying something like "well, they're not the friendliest people." To which I get the obvious response of, "if you think they're not friendly, how do you think I feel."
I meet a student from Zambia a couple of months ago, and I saw that he had a scar on his cheek. It's from when a group of skinheads attacked him in the middle of the day, in the midst of downtown. (A note for the Americans. In Europe, downtown tends to be the nice, safe part of the city, and the suburbs are the rough areas. The exact opposite of the way we think of things.)
Blacks are followed closely by Asians in this unfortunate top ten list. There are also a lot of Chinese here on scholarship, and the ones I've talked to say they don't go out at night. They don't even feel comfortable in groups.
Lest you think it was only foreigners, Russians also have a severe distaste for Caucasians. Again for the Americans, that doesn't mean "white" like our race labelers back home would have us believe, it means from the Caucasus, a mountain chain in between Russia and the Middle East. Chechnya is located in this area.
To give you a taste of how Russians feel about Caucasians, every single Russian girl I've talked to about them has flat out told me that they don't like them, even though some of them have never actually known one. The Russian stretch of the Caucasus is Muslim, and the treatment of women is about what you'd expect. However, as a male, I've never had any problems with Caucasians, and they've been, on average, much friendlier than ethnic Russians. And to top it off, they have some amazing food.
For example, one of my good friends here is Dagestani, and when I went on the metro with him, he was stopped by the police on the way in, and on the way out. Anyways, the point of the story is that Caucasians (especially Chechens) know what it's like to get the short end of the racism stick. So I was shocked when I saw two Chechen friends of mine physically harass some black students.
These two Chechen security guards (for the dorm) are both extremely nice to me, and they go out of their way to be helpful. On Friday, I was hanging out with them in the lobby, and at around 11:15 they were getting kind of annoyed with the amount of non-residents still in the dorm. Technically, non-residents are not allowed to stay past 11pm. Some of the foreigners were having a party, so there were a lot of extra people in the dorm.
As some of the Russian students trickled out late, they mouthed their displeasure, but gave their ID back without problem. When you enter the dorm as a non-resident, you have to leave some form of ID. A couple of minutes later, a group of Chinese students came out. Again, clearly they let them know they were not happy, but let it go at that. Lastly, two black students came out, and things got physical.
There was much yelling, and the black students were slightly under the influence of alcohol, so they mouthed back a bit. The gurads then threw their IDs at them, and one proceeded to grab one of the students and pull him outside. Two friends of mine were with the black students and went with them to make sure the guard didn't rough them up.
This isn't the first time that my loyalties have been torn, people who are nice to me behaving towards others in ways I consider reprehensible. I don't know what to do about it. This is their world, it's the way they were brought up, and they're not likely to change. Do I break off our friendship because they're essentially racist, or do I stay in the friendship, but understand that this is a part of who they are?
Posted by Owen at April 20, 2004 12:55 AM | TrackBackI don't think Russia is really racist in a way that Americans think of racism. In Russia, it's a widely-known, accepted fact that there are Russians, and there are Jews. Russians are destined to occupy all the governmental and publically visible posts (i.e. radio, TV, etc.); while the Jews will be allowed to live as long as they are useful (as scientists, doctors, etc.). Naturally, there has to be a Russian in every research lab and hospital group -- can't leave those Jews unsupervised, right ? And of course, only a certain percentage of Jews are allowed in any organization, that goes without saying.
The difference here is that this type of thinking is not overt and vocal. You won't see an anti-Jewish demonstration, for example -- there is no need to demonstrate anything, because everyone (including the Jews) knows what the status quo is. Naturally, the government fully supports the status quo -- as it did since time immemorial, long before the revolution.
Other races (Caucasian, Armenian, etc.) are either treated similarly to Jews, or are seen as alien curiosities (blacks, Asians) -- i.e., somewhat less than human.
The sad thing here is that, unlike in America, racism is not an anomaly, or even an unfortunate trend -- it is the status quo, and part of the cultural heritage that goes back centuries. It will never change, as long as Russia exists.
Of course, Russians themselves are falling into these kinds of situations in former Soviet republics (such as Lithuania/Latvia/Estonia, especially). When the last Jews were being evacuated from Armenia (er... I think it was Armenia), they held up a big banner as they boarded the EL-AL plane, written in Russian: "teper' vy pobud'te nami", translated loosely as, "now, you try being us for a change".
It is my view that when you know wrong is being done to people you must find a way to communicate to others,(and this includes friends),that what is being done is not right. It is a hard thing to do and it never gets easy. You may lose these friends as a result. However if you do,you have to ask yourself why were they your friends in the first place? Was it because of who you are on the inside or what you look like on the outside? Is it the perceived pedigree that draws them to you? Bottom line, we humans are all shallow. It is the river beds where we lie that determine the depths of our shallowness. How's that for a second grade teacher, ex. army officer mother of 2 extremely deep sons? Doing the right thing is hard and requires strength of character and many times bravery in the face of imminent or possible danger. We all have limits you just haven't reached yours yet. There will come a time when you do. Everything you do now prepares you for your tomorrows.
Posted by: Amy Treese at April 20, 2004 04:45 AMYou need to loose them as friends, stop hanging with them, stop doing whatever it is you do with them. When they ask you why, you get to explain yourself. Then they will either tell you to piss off, in which case they really are not your friends. Or they will try to understand where you are coming from and in the future refrain from such behavoir at least in front of you. And perhaps they will be more cognizant of offending others in the future.
Think of it as someone who dislikes profanity and asks their friends not to use in in their presence. Most friends will comply with such a request, it they choose not to then they really do not value your friendship.
Now you could just play politics and just ignore it, but that doesn't say much for your character.
Good Luck
Bob Marley
That article about Jews moving back to Russia sounds like bullshit to me. Yes, I am sure some Jews are moving back to Russia (due to unemployment in Israel); some are probably also going to Antarctica or some place. This does not mean that the migration to Russia (or Antarctica) is a massive phenomenon.
All throughout the history of Russia and USSR, Jews have been desperately trying to get out, by any means neccessary. Since they could get out easier than Russians (Israel won't accept Russians), it even became commonplace for Russian women to marry Jewish men -- just so that they could escape along with them. When the gates were opened a crack in 1970s, and then later, in the 80s-90s, every Jew who wasn't a total idiot took the chance to leave; this caused the great waves of immigration that doubled and tripled Israel's population virtually overnight.
Think about this. If you barely managed to escape a giant prison where you were treated like a slave, what would it take to get you to come back ? Especially now, when the gates are closing again, and Russia has all but returned to the old, comfortable totalitarian regime ? I can't think of anything, other than the immediate threat of total starvation, and maybe not even that.
Posted by: Bugmaster at April 20, 2004 09:23 PMWhat puzzles me is that there is no 'rational' explanation for some Russians' dislike for Africans. These students are not going to compete with Russians for jobs or market share, and even if the were, there are too few of them compared with other minority groups.
Note by the way that, although most of Russia's part of the Caucasus is indeed Muslim (but the Ossetians are mostly Christian), the term kavkaztsy also refers to Georgians and Armenians, who are Christian and are represented at all levels and in all spheres here. On average, Russians seem more tolerant towards them then they are toward Muslim Caucasians.
Russia did not invent the pogrom, just the word for it. History of W.Europe is rife with pogroms; they started in Russia after they had stopped in the West as Russia was lagging ages behind in social development. Even now, it's socially backward (which is not bad in every respect, but definitely in this one), so you might take not the US of the early 21st century as your reference point, but rather the New York of the Gangs era, or the California of the late 19th century with its coolie laws -- or even some parts of the US before WW2 with "No Jews need apply" ads, etc.
It's also rather odd that you have not met a Jewish person; you must have met young people of mixed Jewish-Gentile heritage at least. As a rule, Russians do not mention their ethnic background unless it is obvious; it not until you get to know a person well enough that they will tell you more about their roots. My experience tells me Russia's intellectuals are much more ethnically diverse than the country on average, and 'mixed' marriages are far more common among them than in the country at large.
Posted by: Alexei at April 22, 2004 08:30 PMUh... you're looking for a rational explanation for xenophobia ? Have fun. Anyways, it's not that Russians hate Africans; instead, it is the case that Russians don't consider Africans to be human at all, but something like a big talking alien monkey or something. "Socially backward" doesn't begin to describe it.
Anyway, in fact most Russian intellectuals are of Jewish (or at least mixed descent) -- or they used to be. I actually have no idea what the situation is like now, since most Jews managed to escape since the Perestroika and all that. In any case, no one with Jews anywhere in their heritage would be so stupid as to walk down the street singing, "I am Jewish, pogrom me now please, la la la". Any person who did that would be strongly selected against by good old Mr. Darwin. So, Owen probably did meet at least a few Jews, he just doesn't know it. Note that I said "a few"; an elite institution such as his university would never accept Jews en masse.
Posted by: Bugmaster at April 27, 2004 07:48 PM(This post is the reverse of the topic on the blog.)
I'll be joining the Peoples Friendship University of Russia (PFUR Moscow) later this year. Though I've come across various reports of racism against outsiders - I'm more (extremly) concerned about the various accounts of Blacks attacking Asian students!
I've been informed by the other students about incidents of African students brutally attacking, stealing articles, and severly bullying Asian students on the campus! They have also noted the relatively low-hygiene standards of these African students. There were also many reports about Blacks stocking smuggled articles and other illegal substances!
Does anyone know about the ratio of the Black students to others in the PFUR hostels?
Are there any web sites or message boards (in English) maintained by students in the PFUR university?
What is the level of threat faced by Asian students from the African students?
Posted by: John at August 19, 2004 01:42 AMI enjoyed your article about racism in Russia. I am a teacher in New Jersey, USA. I have a degree in journalism from America's Rutger University. I would love to do a story on black people in the former Soviet Union this summer of 2005. Please give me a call at (973)677-0044. I would like to know who to contact for my story (example: government offficials, police. black organizations, black people married to white people in Russia, black people who were victims of racial crimes, etc.). Thank you.
Posted by: Antonia Gaines at October 2, 2004 03:19 PMDear John, you have been fed with racist propaganda. I know several students at Druzhba Narodov (Peoples' Friendship University), and none of them have noted that kind of things about the African students there.
Posted by: Dunya at October 7, 2004 08:28 PMWhen I was in Russia I found them to be the most ignorant racist people I've found on this earth.
They really are a pathetic bunch of drunks and losers.
The Russians are quite vocal in their racism and physical in their attacks. I mean I was attacked once by 3 college students(Freakin COLLEGE BOYS in broad daylight! for fucks sake!) and verbally harassed constantly in all situations- and not helped and the service was awful and their restrooms all stink like urine.
No wonder Russian chicks are all over the internet. Who would want some nasty, vodka smelling drunk broke-assed Russian for a husband?
So to all Russians I say Yep VASS!! and to all Americans I say don't change the coordinates on the missiles.
Don't let these scum in your country and don't go there unless you're some blonde weenie whitebread suckass.
Posted by: Zelda at November 2, 2004 05:16 PMI lived in the USSR (Russia) before moving to America. Racism was actually much better during the days of the USSR. Jews were regarded as part of the human race, as opposed to now. I am half Jewish, and didn't get the full consequence of racism when I lived there. Racism will never end in Russia, because it goes back too far into history to get rid of.
Secondly, who can say for themselves that they are not racist against any group of people? I see that Americans aren't too tolerant to Mexicans or blacks. English aren't tolerant of French. Germans aren't tolerant of anybody. Thus, Russia is really just like any other country, only there are a bit more extremists there.
Zelda, personally, I despise people like you, just like I despise the people in Russia who are open about racism. You are wrong. I know, because I lived there.