Russian Ultranationalist, Neo-Nazi, And White Supremacist Groups Capitalize On Rising Tensions Around Immigration

In 2023, the Russian Higher School of Economics University published a report titled "Long-term Prognosis of Compensatory Migration in Russia." In the report the authors note that in the short term, under the best-case scenario (i.e., high birth rates, life expectancy etc.) a population decline is to be expected in Russia from today's figure of 146.2 million, to 145.2 million people in 2026. This means that to prevent population decline in the coming years, authorities need to facilitate a high migration rate. The Russian government appears to have taken note of this issue. For instance in autumn of 2022, the Russian Ministry of Labor increased the quota for immigrants. During January-August of 2022, over 1,415,314 patents (right to labor issued for the territory of Russian constituent entity) and 57,986 work permits were issued to migrants. Business, too, calls for attracting labor immigrants.

However, the growth in immigration has been a divisive issue in Russian society, with some claiming that it has caused a rise in crime. For instance, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that in the first 11 months of 2022, the number of crimes in Russia committed by foreign nationals increased by almost 10% compared to the previous year, while in January-February of 2023 the number of such crimes grew by 9.5%, compared to the same period last year (about 7,000 cases). The Investigative Committee of Russia reported an increase in the number of serious crimes (in particular murder and serious injury to health, resulting in the death of the victim) showing a five-fold increase in 2022, compared to the previous year.

Earlier in 2023, Russian president Vladimir Putin addressed widespread concern by proposing measures to better integrate immigrants, namely by introducing Russian-language classes. This became part of the state's "Concept of State Migration Policy." State Duma (Russian parliament) "LDPR" party made the immigration issue a part of its program, calling for the introduction of visa policies for central Asian countries.

A Telegram post by an Anti-immigration channel allegedly showing videos of a mass armed fight between labor immigrants in St. Petersburg on June 4, 2023. The post reads: "[These are videos of] 'multinational life' in St. Petersburg near the 'Lakhta Centre' site. Foreign specialists, who are so 'indispensable' to our economy, are engaged in a mass 'battle' near one of the country's most expensive construction sites, with about a hundred 'fighters' participating."

The Levada polling agency assessed that Russian citizens are wary of the increased immigration rates. For instance, during the poll, conducted in 2022, in response to the question "Do you agree or disagree with the fact that the presence of immigrants in our city/region is excessive?" 29% answered "definitely agree," 28% - "rather agree," with only 9% selecting "definitely disagree" and 27% - "rather disagree." The report argued: "The attitude towards immigrant workers is obviously indicated to be non-reflexive antipathy and anxiety." Data on the issue provided by the Presidential Administration-associated "Public Opinion" Foundation also demonstrates an unwelcoming attitude towards immigrants. In addition, news items by local or small media often criticize immigration policies.

Division over immigration is a longstanding problem: Levada polls conducted as early as 2012 demonstrated a wary attitude towards labor immigrants, who are often targets for Russian neo-Nazi and skinhead attacks. For instance, Russian neo-Nazi and skinhead Maxim Martsinkevich, who became an icon of the ultra-right, targeted immigrants in his projects "Restruckt" and "Occupy Pedophilia." The latter became an ongoing international phenomena, followed by various independent extremist and neo-Nazi groups.

The following report reviews posts by Russian ultranationalist, fascist, and neo-Nazi groups expressing anti-immigration views.

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Neo-Nazi And Ultranationalist Groups Leverage Anti-Immigration Sentiment

Against the backdrop of news reports calling for increased labor immigration, poor policies, and rising crime rates, the issue of immigration has been seized by various groups in reviving conspiracy narratives (reminiscent of the "Great Replacement" theory) and blaming Russian authorities. The ideology of such groups varies, but generally falls into the 'traditionalist' (right or ultra-right) area of the Russian political spectrum, ranging from neo-Nazi, fascist, and extremist Christian Orthodox.

For instance, a Christian Orthodox Telegram channel published on May 23, 2023 an anti-immigrant conspiracy post, titled "The expansion of an aggressive virus." The post makes several claims, that follow common (as demonstrated by polls) anti-immigrant narratives: "The vast majority of potential criminals are central Asian immigrants, whose interests are clearly valued as higher than those of the indigenous peoples of Russia... The authorities themselves facilitate the replacement of our people in all spheres of life. Ask Chelyabinskites or Muscovites, do they feel safe in their hometowns? Is it still our Home?" The post went on to describe the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory, applying it to the Russian context.

Christian Orthodox Telegram channel reading: "Immigrants are simply occupying jobs as well as living space meant for Russian people... The day will come, and we will hold the executive authorities [of Russia] accountable for how they allowed this to happen."

In another example, on May 2, 2023, a fascist and monarchist Telegram channel published a post commenting the alleged beating of famous Russian basketball player Aleksey Shved by the group of Azerbaijani immigrants, and on a mass fight which took place between Russian and Azerbaijani teenagers in the city of Chelyabinsk. The city came under the spotlight recently due to prominent crime cases involving immigrants. The post appeals to narratives of preserving the state and threats to security. It read: "We often write about central Asian migrants, but the Azerbaijani diaspora, with its greater connections within Russia and its many wealthy businessmen, is perhaps an even greater threat to our national security, [is] the main vehicle for pan-Turkism and [serve] the interests of Turkish (and with them the British) intelligence agencies in our country."

The Telegram post, reading: "Diasporas of non-indigenous [peoples] in Russia are analogous to the mafia. It is time to put an end to this."

Prominent Russian miliary blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, who was assassinated on April 2, 2023, called for violent action against immigrants on his Telegram channel. On February 9, 2023, his channel discussed another mass armed fight between Russian and Tajikistani teenagers, which took place the day prior. The post dubbed the Russian perpetrators 'heroes', criticizing the actions of the authorities. It said: "Young Russian heroes from Chelyabinsk were not afraid to challenge an ethnic gang that was terrorizing the city's youth. Now they are being threatened with prosecution under Article 213 of the Russian Criminal Code."

Youth involved in the Chelyabinsk mass fight case. Tatarsky's post reads: "If the case goes to trial, it will represent a verdict about justice in our country."

Some channels focused the blame for poor immigration policies on Russian governors or President Putin. A fascist Telegram channel published a post on April 14 criticizing the Governor of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Alexei Tesler. The post pointed to the Governor's order to "leaders and representatives of education authorities, youth committees and cultural institutions to work responsibly with immigrant communities in the region, in order to avoid ethnic conflicts." The text claimed that these diaspora communities "hide ethnic criminals from investigation, courts, and punishment, effectively acting as accomplices in their crimes."

The post read: "Instead of cleansing his region of ethnic gangs, locking up criminals, expelling illegals, and shutting down diaspora [communities], the Governor asks for a 'responsible approach to dealing with them.'"

An ultranationalist organization openly placed a blame for the immigrant issue on the Russian President. On April 21, the channel published a post in connection with Eid Al-Fitr celebrations in Moscow, titled "After a crackdown on Russian nationalists, Putin congratulates Muslims on Eid al-Fitr." The post called Putin an "anti-Russian dictator."

The post included photos of Eid al-Fitr celebrations in Moscow, reading: "The photos shows the city of Moscow today. A city where the number of native Muslims is minimal. [The] majority of the people depicted are immigrants, 'import-substitute Russians'" The phrase refers to the policy of import-substitution of goods, introduced after the imposition of Western sanctions on Russia.

An anti-immigrant channel regularly posts content monitoring criminal cases involving immigrants and associated policies.

Posts monitoring criminal cases involving immigrants, including a proposition by the Ministry of Education and Science to lower the requirements for knowledge of the Russian language for applicants to  engineering programs at universities. The section covering immigrant-related crime is titled "The wave of ethnic violence sweeping across Russia."

The issue of immigration represents a challenge for Russian authorities. Considering the country's worsening economic and demographic situations, and population losses from the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the immigration problem is likely to exacerbate. A lack of sound policy will lead to the issue being further seized by extremist groups, who will continue to call for violent and unlawful action against immigrants.