To say that racism is pandemic in Russia these days might be an understatement. Sunday’s race riots in Moscow were certainly not the first time The Interpreter has raised the alarm over the increasingly-radical nationalist movement. Over the summer, a Russian paratrooper was killed by a Chechen immigrant in the North Caucasus town of Pugachev. Though […]
Spotlight
How Biryulyovo Succeeded Where Bolotnaya Failed
We’ve been writing about not only the events concerning the race riots in Moscow, but also the reaction of the government and the various politicians and media outlets. One concern cited by several voices is that the Russian government was only pushed into action by the rioters in the streets. Earlier we posted a translation […]
Director of the Vegetable Warehouse in Biryulyovo Arrested
The southern Moscow district of Biryulyovo was the site of race riots after the murder of a Muscovite by a migrant. A wave of protesters descended upon a vegetable warehouse and a nearby shopping center, both of which are often populated by immigrants. Pro-Kremlin news outlets and nationalist leaders have both been pushing the narrative […]
Periphery as a Way of Life
In the wake of last Sunday’s race riots in Moscow, we have been translating the voices of various Russians in order to better understand how this topic is being discussed in the press and public spheres. We have already translated an editorial from a former Moscow mayor, as well as a statement from opposition leader […]
Russia 2013: KGB in Power
Yevgenia Albats is a Russian investigative journalist who worked for the Newsweek International in the late 1990s. She is the chief editor of The New Times. – Ed. September 30, 2013 will go down in history. On this day, President Putin signed decrees №№ 739-742, increasing by 2-2.5 times the monetary remuneration (salary plus bonuses) of […]
Putin’s Most Powerful Opponent is Free, For Now
Alexei Navalny walked out of a Russian court a free man this morning, after his five-year prison sentence was suspended. Over the summer, Navalny was convicted for embezzling 16 millions roubles (about half a million dollars) worth of wood. The initial trial was widely viewed as a political sham, as the defense was not allowed […]
Navalny: What Happened in Biryulyovo
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny has posted a blog post about the race riots that occurred over the weekend in Moscow. On October 12, a Russian man was murdered by an immigrant, sparking race riots in the southern district of Biryulyovo. The narrative of what happened during the riots can be read here, and an analysis […]
Security Clampdown in Moscow
Over the weekend a Russian man was murdered by an immigrant, sparking race riots in the southern district of Biryulyovo. The narrative of what happened during the riots can be read here, and an analysis of the back story of the racial tensions in Russia can be read here. This article is a translation from […]
The Narrative of the Moscow Race Riots
On Sunday 13 October, in the Moscow district of West Biryulyovo, massive street riots broke out – the largest nationalist action in the capital since the clashes on Manezh Square in 2010. Hundreds of people rampaged through the Biryuza shopping center and a local vegetable warehouse, throwing up barricades and fighting with riot police. The […]
“Their Brains Are Like a Wrecking Ball”
Just as angry anti-migrant mobs raged in the provincial town of Pugachev and in St. Petersburg last summer, on Sunday night rioters rampaged in the drab industrial district of Biryulyovo in Moscow surrounding one of the largest vegetable warehouses in Europe. Two separate incidents led to arrests of some 450 people, 23 were wounded including […]