By Irina Glushchenko
MOSCOW — In the weeks after Vladimir Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic Party polled strongly in the Russian parliamentary elections, a phrase constantly on the lips of government supporters was "the threat of fascism". On instructions from the authorities, "anti-fascist committees" began to be established to coordinate the struggle against the Zhirinovsky forces.
But during the same period, the pro-Yeltsin Moscow city government was issuing statements that sounded suspiciously like those of Zhirinovsky. And unlike the rhetoric of the LDP leader, the declarations of the Moscow authorities have been backed by action.
The threat represented by Russian nationalism was among the main themes of government propaganda throughout 1993. Government spokespeople linked this danger with the old parliament, the Supreme Soviet. The victory of parliament over the president, it was said, would lead to the triumph of chauvinist and even fascist tendencies.
In fact, the executive power itself was deeply infected with these moods. During the April referendum supporters of Yeltsin called on Russians to support the president against "the Chechen" Khasbulatov. The now-imprisoned former speaker of the Supreme Soviet, Ruslan Khasbulatov, is a member of the Chechen nationality from the North Caucasus region.
After dealing with the Supreme Soviet, the government side began turning its racist rhetoric into practice. On October 4 the Moscow city authorities began throwing people of Caucasus origin and other "foreigners" out of the Russian capital. These moves were accompanied by the robbery and intimidation of traders from the Caucasus who remained in Moscow. Militia officers went into the marketplaces and, as large crowds looked on, seized fruit from the traders and helped themselves to beer.
During the two-week state of emergency that followed the shelling of the parliament building, more than 10,000 people were deported from Moscow. Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov then set about creating a legislative basis for perpetuating these actions. People who arrived in Moscow from other regions of Russia and from other countries of the former Soviet Union were ordered to register with the authorities and to pay special taxes.
A decree "On Special Provisions Governing the Presence in Moscow of Persons Permanently Resident Outside Russia" was issued on November 5. The law on registration has created broad opportunities for abuses by the militia, since militia officers are empowered to carry out arbitrary checks on the population. In other words, any person of non-Russian appearance can be detained on the street and subjected to search and interrogation.
During these checks people have regularly been beaten up, and often robbed as well. As the Moscow daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta noted, the victims of this abuse have included political refugees from Central Asia who came to Moscow in perfectly legal fashion. People who came to the capital on work-related trips or to visit relatives and friends have been "snatched up like animals from the streets, from the metro, and from railway stations. They have been beaten on the ribs and legs, and told to get out of Moscow, or even out of Russia, in double-quick time."
The authorities have appealed to citizens of the capital to inform on unregistered "non-Russians", and many Muscovites have enthusiastically dashed off denunciations.
In the Moscow press, racketeers have for some reason come to be described as "dark-haired", while sexually transmitted diseases have been linked to natives of the Caucasus and to Assyrians. With considerable success, the authorities have exploited the age-old antagonism of Muscovites toward traders from the Caucasus — the "Caucasian mafia" that supposedly swindles Russians, speculating in produce and taking the best places in the markets. "They've got what was coming to them", is a phrase often heard in the metro. The persecution and deportation of people of Caucasian origin has generally been welcomed.
"To judge from opinion surveys", Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported on October 21, "the great majority of Muscovites support the actions of the authorities in shipping non-Russians out beyond the boundaries of the capital. They also approve of the decrees tightening the conditions of entry and residence, and of Moscow's special status as a semi-closed city off limits to refugees."
However, some members of the intelligentsia and of human rights organisations have condemned Luzhkov's decree. At a press conference organised by Memorial, Helsinki Watch and similar bodies, details were presented of numerous cases of persecutions, reprisals, beatings and illegal deportation of refugees.
Since November 15 a special residence system has been in force in Moscow. Similar steps have been taken by the city authorities in St Petersburg. In practice, the introduction of this system has been aimed exclusively at members of non-Russian nationalities, who are often easy to distinguish.
Georgian ambassador in Moscow Valerian Advadze has declared that the system is a disaster for several thousand Georgian refugees who fled to Moscow to escape the war in Abkhazia. The same applies to refugees from other "hot spots" around the former USSR.
The funds obtained through persecuting non-Russians, the Moscow city government pledged, would be used to help solve the social problems of Muscovites. This promise was accompanied by a wave of racist propaganda in the press. One of the main Moscow weeklies, Sobesednik, published a racist cartoon on its front cover. This depicted a fat Caucasian on a horse, impaling Russia on a kebab skewer.
Inside, the newspaper sought to explain why the authorities were showing wisdom and humanity in deporting members of the Caucasus nationalities. There were of course violations of human rights, Sobesednik conceded, but this was the price that had to be paid for defending Russians, whose interests were supposedly threatened by the presence of non-Russians in the city.
If Zhirinovsky is a fascist, then what are we to call Luzhkov and his fellow fighters against the alleged threat from the Caucasus?