The news of anti-Semitic violence sweeping across Russia is very disturbing. More troubling is the frequent refusal of local police to respond, giving tacit encouragement to further acts of hatred. But the response by President Vladimir Putin, a new law barring extremism, raises many questions and could, in fact, be worse than the problem.
A quarter century ago, anti-Semitism in Russia was rampant, ingrained and institutionalized. Today, thanks in part to the involvement of communities like ours, legislation like the Jackson-Vanik amendment and systemic change within the Russian government, anti-Semitism is no longer an institutionally sanctioned practice.
On the contrary, Putin is saying all the right things, publicly condemning anti-Semitism and proposing to outlaw extremism.
On its face, this proposed law seems like a good idea. Extremism is a cancer that must be eradicated, so banning it should be a positive step. However, without a clear and precise definition of what “extremism” is, such legislation could in fact pose a threat to those who need its protection most.
Religious organizations in Russia are still required to register with the authorities. This new law could be used as a tool to deny registration to Jewish organizations — or to any other religion or group, whose activities are not to the authorities’ liking. If freedom of political and religious expression become casualties of this legislation, then Russia will be heading in the wrong direction.
The spasm of violence against Jews and other minorities in Russia calls for response. But the proposed extremism law has disturbing echoes of a past Russia inhospitable to democracy and to the Jews. Russia already has a law banning extremism. Article 282 of Russia’s criminal code prohibits actions that “incite ethnic, racial [or] religious hatred,” or even those that “assert one’s superiority or inferiority based on religion, ethnic, or religious affiliation.” What is missing is the willingness and commitment on the part of local authorities to enforce the law.
Three years ago, the Bay Area Council for Jewish Rescue and Renewal began to address this complacency by introducing the “Climate of Trust” program. Through its workshops and seminars, nearly a thousand Russian police officers, regional administrators and human rights activists have joined with the San Francisco Police Department’s Hate Crimes Unit, the Anti-Defamation League, the San Francisco district attorney’s office and others to share ideas on curbing extremism at the local level.
The program has yielded concrete results. In the town of Ryazan, a Jewish Sunday school had been violently attacked by neo-Nazis a few days before a Climate of Trust workshop was to take place. The workshop’s participants resolved to send an open letter to the authorities in Ryazan, expressing their concern.
These Russian police, mayors and judges publicly expressed their conviction that every segment of society, from law enforcement to the prosecutor’s office to city administration to the community itself, must send a clear and unambiguous message that ethnic and religious intolerance is unacceptable and will not go unanswered. In response, the officials in Ryazan decided to keep the case open and conduct an investigation, rather than closing the case as was originally planned.
Convincing the Ryazan police to keep a criminal case open may seem like a small victory, but the fact that the request was made at all marks a significant shift in mindset — one that is crucial for more significant change. Hate crimes in Russia are historically underreported, in large part because of a latent and long-held distrust of law enforcement and other authorities. If the Climate of Trust is successful, reports of hate crimes will actually go up before they go down, as people feel more secure about bringing their concerns to the authorities.
In towns like Ryazan, Petrozavodsk, Borovichi, Velikie Luki and Kazan, lines of communication between the community and the authorities have been established and are now ongoing. Such communication must be encouraged. Trust and tolerance must be developed. That, and not a law banning “extremism,” will finally bring about positive change in Russia.