Police in Kaliningrad, Russia detained three young men in connection with the stabbing of a black lawyer who works for the regional government, according to a June 9, 2008 report by the Regnum news agency. Aleksandr Burger-Gasanov was attacked on the evening of May 9 (Victory Day) near his home. The victim lost two liters of blood as a result of the ferocity of the attack, which was accompanied by racist abuse, including the "N word" which has migrated from English to the lexicon of the Russian far-right. Nevertheless, a police spokesman denied that racism was a motive for the attack, citing the suspects' patently ridiculous claim that they couldn't tell that their victim was black because they attacked him at night. Nor were the suspects charged with attempted murder or aggravated assault; instead they face charges of "hooliganism."

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