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• A worrying trend for 2011 [23/12/2010]
• Racism is everyone’s problem [20/12/2010]

© RIA Novosti. Andrey Stenin

One in 10 Russians is ready to riot

by Andy Potts at 24/12/2010 11:29

Almost one in five Russians support the Manezhnaya rioters – and more than one in 10 is ready to join them next time.

That’s the alarming conclusion drawn by pollsters VTsIOM in a survey about the recent violence which has descended on Russia’s streets.

And in the big cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg support for the demonstrators was up to 37 per cent, while nationwide 19 per cent backed the rioters and 11 per cent said they were ready to take part in future disturbances.

Two-thirds opposed

The survey, which took place in 138 towns on Dec. 18-19, found that nationwide 65 per cent opposed the protests.

But many were unconvinced that this was a true ethnic conflict, believing that it was a protest against lawlessness and gangsterism.

And VTSiOM boss Valery Fyodorov claims his figures prove there is a volatile layer among Russia’s youth.

“These people do not believe in modernisation,” he said. “If society does not help these people achieve their goals it will give rise to anti-social forces.”

And he emphasised that the focus of the recent discontent flowed from “defiant behaviour” of migrants from the North Caucasus.

Similar figures

Other organisations came up with similar figures.

Fellow pollsters Lavada Centre said that the level of hostility towards people of different ethnic backgrounds had almost doubled since 2008.

“We regularly ask the question ‘Do you feel hostility of other nationalities?’,” deputy director Alexei Grazhdankin told Vedomosti. “In 2008 10 per cent said they did, and in 2010 there was a sharp jump to 19 per cent.”

Moscow for everyone?

While Moscow police chief Vladimir Kolokoltsev proposed a debate on tightening migration laws for new arrivals to Moscow on Wednesday, there were some voices in support of a cosmopolitan city.

A coalition of artists and activists is planning to stage its own Pushkinskaya demonstrationon Dec. 26 – uniting under the slogan “Moscow for all!”.