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Karelian Governor Puts Most of the Blame for Kondopoga Riot on Migrants


(September 12, 2006)

In two interviews with major national dailies, the governor of Karelia, Sergey Katanandov, has placed most of the blame for the race riot in the regional town of Kondopoga on non-Russian migrants. In a September 7, 2006 interview with “Izvestiya”, the governor strongly hinted at corruption within the Kondopoga police force as a major reason for the riot, echoing other media reports from the town that have quoted local residents complaining about Chechens and other non-Russians violating the law and then bribing the police to escape the consequences. Although the governor has condemned the actions of the rioters in other forums, there was no such language in the “Izvestiya” interview, nor did he emphasize that the Chechens who allegedly stabbed the Russian youths at the Chaika restaurant were arrested even before the riot started (which contradicts the assertion that corrupt police are letting migrants off the hook) or that the rioters targeted entire communities of people in retaliation for the actions of a few criminals.

Instead, the governor appeared to almost exclusively blame non-Russian migrants for the riot, saying that:

“The behavior of certain young men who moved here from the Caucasus and other territories in recent years - not that many of them, and they were visible - has been beyond the pale. If there's a road accident, for example, a technical inspection - they go in without standing in line, showing that everything is permitted to them. Another example: they beat up a police officer. And that officer withdrew his complaint, explaining that the conflict was over. In reality, he was apparently paid off. In this town, a great many justified complaints against these people had accumulated over the past few years. That's the first point.”

He then echoed Russian nationalist rhetoric, which posits that the Russian people are being humiliated by migrants, and seemed to assert that the violent outburst in Kondopoga was an attempt by the ethnic Russian population to get some “self-respect”:

“Secondly: another factor is that the people have developed a sense of their own dignity. We, as representatives of the state, wanted the people to have some self-respect.”

Governor Katanandov took a more moderate stand in a September 5 interview with “Kommersant”, though even in that interview, he still seemed broadly sympathetic to the rioters. After stating the same accusations about police corruption and adding that the leaders of the riot have been arrested and will be prosecuted, the governor said that:

“The main reason [for the riot] was that before our eyes a representatives of another people acted shamelessly and outrageously, ignoring the mentality of our people. It takes a lot to make northern people react angrily. In general, I understand the feelings of those people who went out into the street.”


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