A Moscow riot in Russia led to mass arrests after a Russian “White Power” protested a Russian man being stabbed to death by a Muslim man.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr , the Olympic torch went out while in Moscow during its relay across the world.
Tensions are high between ethnic Russians and immigrants from the Caucasus region, which have a Muslim majority. The Moscow riot started during a protest which was demanding more police action in response to the killing of 25-year-old Yegor Shcherbakov, who authorities said was fatally stabbed while walking home with his girlfriend.
The murder suspect is thought to be a immigrant from the Caucasus region and Moscow’s mayor says police are still searching. But the 3,000 people in the Moscow riot did not believe enough was being done, so they took to the streets while chanting “White Power” and “Russia for the Russians.” They vandalized businesses in the capital known to be run by Muslim Caucasus natives.
In response the Moscow police engaged in a “preemptive raid.” After several police officers were wounded in the Moscow riot , around 1,200 were detained, 380 people were arrested, and a criminal case was opened. Some Russian residents criticized the police for the latest arrests, claiming they are much more lenient in the treatment of migrants engaged in illegal activity:
“It’s simply impossible to live here. There are fights all the time. The people working in this warehouse are no good – I’m sure there are criminals hiding among them.”
President Vladimir Putin believes more immigrant workers are needed for the Russian constructions industry. Mikhail Fedotov, head of Russia’s human rights council, criticized police for not doing enough to prevent the Moscow riot against Muslim immigrants :
“On the one hand, I completely understand resentment among Muscovites who see people getting killed on our streets and law enforcement officials doing nothing. But that in no way justifies… this pogrom.”
This is not the first time a Moscow riot was triggered by the killing of an ethnic Russian man by a Muslim from North Caucasus. In December 2010, after a soccer fan was murdered several thousand youths rioted just outside the Kremlin and clashed with police and attacked passersby who they took for non-Russians.
What do you think about the Moscow riot targeting Muslim immigrants to Russia?
