Hate crimes in Russia

Africans arriving in the Russian capital these days to work or study are provided with an unusal set of instructions.

The list includes the following:

Avoid moving around the city alone

Know your destination and walk quickly and directly towards it

In buses, trams and trains sit close to the driver

Avoid travelling for four hours before and after soccer and hockey games

At first glance, the instructions may appear overly cautious, perhaps even patronizing. But increasingly, people who aren't Russian, or people who don't look Russian, are being attacked by neo-Nazis and skinhead groups.

Jessica Golloher reports from Moscow that the attacks aren't simply increasing in frequency, but in intensity as well. The last year for which there are official statistics is 2007. In that year, 653 people were victims of hate crimes. Of those, 73 died as a result of their injuries.

Police indifference

As Jessica found out, hate crimes are treated with indifference by police. And in some cases, assaults have taken place directly in front of police officers, who do nothing to help.

There is one ray of hope. Jessica went to a clinic run by American missionaries, which was set up specifically to help treat those who've been assaulted in hate crimes. There she spoke with a few men, from Ghana and Nigeria. One man, Manuel Thomas, told her how he'd been beaten by eight men who left him for dead.

"They [started] speaking and shouting saying: "Black guy, what are you doing in Russia? You should go back to your country, black guy, nigger." They start beating me. Nobody came. Nobody came. I was there for four or five hours. I was in snow. I'm, like, scared."

Attacks on the increase

Jessica tried to contact the police department for comment, as well as members of the Duma, or Russian parliament. Her calls went nowhere. In the meantime, the attacks keep getting worse. Unofficial sources estimate that there have been 39 hate crime attacks so far in 2009 - and 14 of the victims have died.

Manuel Thomas is still recuperating from his injuries. When he's fully healed, he's planning on leaving Russia. For the men at the clinic, returning to their home countries and leaving their dreams behind, is the only option remaining.