The
head of the MVD's anti-extremism unit has released statistics on the
number of extremist crimes in Russia, according to a January 26, 2010
report by the Sova Information-Analytical Center. General Yuri Kokov
gave the following figures, which show a rapid growth in the number of
such crimes over the past five years
According to his
statistics, 130 extremist crimes were recorded in 2004, 460 in 2008,
and 549 in 2009. As usual, the MVD stats did not distinguish between
hate crimes and crimes connected to Islamic extremists, insurgents in
Chechnya, or even peaceful opposition demonstrators, whom police are
targeting with increasing frequency by abusing anti-extremism
legislation. But General Kokov did say that there are 150 neo-fascist
groups active in Russia.
General Kokov admitted that
his statistics are not 100% reliable. He also added that 549 extremist
crimes do not seem like much compared to the overall crime number for
2009 of 3,000,000. "Nevertheless," he said, "it ought to be pointed out
that even one crime connected to the specific and delicate sphere of
inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations can drastically destabilize
or even explode the situation, not only in one specific region, but in
the entire state... That is the main danger presented by extremist
incidents. Sometimes, a typical bar fight or night club brawl can lead
to unpredictable consequences, including mass disorders on inter-ethnic
or inter-religious grounds. It's enough to remember what happened in
Kondopoga, Salsk, Kalmykiya."