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English Language Page The following is a list of public organizations representing the interests of different ethnic groups: The largest religious organization in the territory is certainly the Russian Orthodox Church, which has over 200 functioning churches (4). The Roman Catholic Church has 20 parishes; the Union of Evangelic Christian Baptists and the Pentecostals have 19 and 13 parishes, respectively; the Seventh Day Adventists have 11; the Jehovah’s Witnesses have 7 religious communities. The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, the Altai Territory Muslim Community, and “Modern Progressive Judaism” have not developed grassroots branches. Since the year 2000, there is an operating branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) in the city of Barnaul. Among the ethnic associations, only the Germans have their own mass media outlets — the Zeitung fur Dich newspaper and the “Ost-West Welle” radio station (5). The German community also publishes the Novoye Vremya newspaper. The Russian Orthodox Church is better off than the other religious orders in terms of mass media resources. It publishes the following newspapers: Lampada (5 000 copies), Khram (997 copies), Pravoslavnoye Slovo (192 copies), Troitsa (900 copies), and Altaiskaya Missiya (5 000 copies). Before the year 2001, among other religious orders only the Union of Evangelic Christian Baptists had its own media outlet, the Christiansky Vestnik newspaper. The rest had to rely on communications in the printed materials published outside of the Altai territory. The main radio station for the territory broadcasts one program in German and one program related to the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church. So far, there have been no noticeable attempts to communicate nationalist or xenophobic views. The largest printed media outlets in terms of circulation are Altaiskaya Pravda (92 400), Svobodny Kurs (36 000), Argumenti i Fakti na Altaye (26 300 copies), Moskovsky Komsomolets na Altaye (17 000 copies), Altayskaya Hedelya (15 000 copies), Molodezh Altaya (14 500 copies) and Vecherny Barnaul (7 000 copies). Analysis of the mass media in 2001 did not reveal any hard evidence of the media outlets’ involvement in the propaganda of xenophobia or of proactive opposition to it. Some of the materials published in the newspapers in the territory contributed to the strengthening of inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations, while others attempted to misrepresent an ethnic group or religious order. Some of the media commentaries on specific cases of hooliganism implied that ethnic or religious factors played a role in these offences. The terrorist attacks on September 11 contributed to an increase in public attention towards the issue of nationalism. The Svobodny Kurs newspaper has given extensive coverage to the tragic events and the causes thereof. Having analyzed the probable causes of the bombings and their impact on inter-ethnic relationships, the paper came to the conclusion that this was essentially a war between destroyers and creators, between order and chaos, and that religion was used as a cover to mask the real background of the events (6). The issues of inter-religious and inter-ethnic relations have been covered most frequently by the Moskovsky Komsomolets na Altaye and Molodezh Altaya newspapers. For example, Moskovsky Komsomolets na Altaye gave a full page to an interview with the Imam-Hattib of the central Barnaul mosque, Fagim Khazrat, dealing primarily with the question of “whether or not the Muslims will have a falling out with the Christians?”(7) The same newspaper, in an article titled “The Caucasians Will Have a Tough Time,” reported on the upcoming liquidation of Caucasian criminal groups within the framework of the “Whirlwind Anti-Terror” operation and used as an example a case when unemployed Chechens bought local enterprises for a song. It was suggested that this was being done using money provided by Chechen militants in order to subsequently channel a portion of the profits to the rebellious Ichkeria (8). In an article titled “We are Being Beaten!!!” the newspaper reported on an exceptionally brutal killing of two residents of the Pospelikhnsky district by several nationals of Azerbaijan and on a Vietnamese man’s attempt to become an adopted son of a Russian woman in order to get Russian citizenship and go to Europe to find a job (“The Seventh International is Reestablished in Altai”) (9). An article titled “The Mysterious Shooting of Azeris in Barnaul” drops a hint that there may have been a nationalist sentiment behind this crime (10). One cannot help having dubious feelings after reading the article “Ethnic Pride or a Document?” that tells quite ironically about a plan to issue two passports to each indigenous resident of Altai — one federal and one ethnic (11). The same paper reports about the growing activities of the Russian National Unity (RNE) organization, which on the eve of Victory [in WWII] Day (May 9) plastered all the lamp poles and bus stop booths in Barnaul with leaflets calling on all “truly” Russian citizens to gather for a discussion of vitally important issues on Sundays at the “T-34” tank monument in Victory Square. The paper expressed the opinion that this action is remarkably cynical because RNE members would wear uniforms that have a swastika on them during a meeting that would be organized on Victory Day at the monument dedicated to the victorious soldiers of the Great Patriotic War. The paper also voiced its concern over the growing activities of another radical movement, “For God’s Power.” The members of this group believe that a Jewish conspiracy is at the core of all of humanity’s current problems (12). Throughout the last year, the Moskovsky Komsomolets na Altaye newspaper repeatedly raised religious questions as well. If the general stance of such materials as “Whether or Not the Muslims Have It Out with the Christians?” (13) and “The Footprint of the Almighty” (14) is unequivocal and would undoubtedly benefit inter-religious and inter-ethnic relations, the interview (to which one whole page is devoted!) (15) with one of the members of a Satanist sect cannot but raise a serious concern. The newspaper extensively covered the issues of sectarianism. In particular, it carried materials on Satanists setting fire to devotional articles in an Orthodox church (16), on the criminal activities of a religious-mystical sect in Barnaul (17), and on the creation of a secret organization for fighting against totalitarian sects and “pseudo-healers” operating in the Altai territory (18). In the article titled “Kalmyk Train,” the Molodezh Altaya newspaper tells about a visit paid to the Altai territory by a delegation from the Kalmykia Republic and about the friendship between the Russians and Kalmyks, a friendship that was born when the Kalmyks were struggling to cope with the tough years of Stalin’s deportations (19). Among the publications, aimed at improving inter-ethnic relations, one could single out the articles “In the Footsteps of a Lost Gypsy Kid” and “Our Man Amidst the Enemy” because they tell about a joint search-party organized to find a lost four-year-old boy of gypsy origin and about the positive attitudes of gypsies towards children (20). The article “I Don’t Want to Be a Chechen, Mother!” touches upon the issue of inter-ethnic marriage. It presents a particular case when Chechen separatists attempted to recruit a boy from a mixed couple that was living with the boy’s mother in the Altai territory into the ranks of one of Ichkeria’s militant groups. The newspaper article titled “Terek Waters are Boiling in Altai” reports on the abduction of two businessmen (one Russian and one Tajik) by a criminal group consisting of three persons from Ingushetia and one from Chechnya. The Molodezh Altaya newspaper published a series of materials on the members of Satanist sects who had committed several criminal offences and on the history of Satanism (21). The Svobodny Kurs newspaper reported on a hooligan attack by two unidentified persons against a Korean farmer who was growing watermelons in the Loktevsk district (22). One issue of the newspaper carried material on the hooliganism of young hooligans from the Nationalist-Bolshevik Party (NBP). The hooligans smashed the windows of a Baskin & Robbins ice-cream shop on the night of August 30, 2001. They also distributed anti-American leaflets. The article “The Days of Mourning for the Russian Germans,” published on the anniversary of the deportation of the Russian Germans, can be regarded as material aimed at strengthening the friendship between the two peoples (23). Even though the overall situation with respect to inter-ethnic relationships in the Altai territory is quite stable, there are still a number of facts that are disturbing and can potentially develop into inter-ethnic conflicts. Since 2001, an inter-ethnic conflict has been growing in the village of Pervomaisky in the Biisk district. The conflict was instigated by a series of vandalisms targeting several Azeri small businessmen living in the village. After a general meeting of the villagers, the villagers decided to expel the Azeris from the village. Soon afterwards, the village council repealed the meetings’ decision and, with the assistance of the law-enforcement bodies, managed to settle the situation, although it is not clear for how long. The nationalist organizations in the Altai territory do not have mass media outlets of their own. They base their propaganda efforts on the literature received from the center and on locally produced leaflets. Beside the above-mentioned call to gather for a discussion of “vitally important issues,” RNE leaflets also communicated that the goal of RNE is to restore Russia to an ethnic state and to revive the Russian nation. The term “Russians” is applied loosely; it also includes Ukrainians and Belorussians. The leaflets carry an appeal to unite under the slogan “Russia or Death,” and they identify the liberation of Russia from the enemy that feels like a master on the Russian soil as the utmost goal of the organization. The “impudent” “younger brethren” from the former Soviet ethnic peripheral provinces are called the enemies (24). The leaflets of the Barnaul Nationalist-Bolshevik Party proclaim: “The USA is the political and economic enemy of Russia. Thus, the enemy should not be supported through buying foreign-made ice cream; the enemy should be opposed.” (25) The activities of the Altai branch of the Orthodox-patriotic movement “Black Hundred,” a group that has an outright anti-Semitic orientation, are also quite disturbing. The leaflets distributed by the “Black Hundred” members contain insults hurled at the Jewish people. Due to measures taken by the prosecutor’s office in the territory and by the territorial branch of FSB, their activities (according to non-official information) have been curbed significantly in 2001. The activities of the Slavic Society, uniting the patriotic-minded higher educated professionals of the territory, are a different story. In 2001, the Slavic Society of the Altai territory conducted a round-table discussion on the issue “The Ethnic-State Unity of the Slavic Peoples: Successes, Failures, and Perspectives.” (26) The social and cultural problems of ethnic Russians abroad undoubtedly require an overdue resolution, and, in the ethnic policies of the Russian government, these problems must be addressed. The activities of the Slavic Society in this area serve the interests of ethnic Russians living inside and outside of Russia (in the CIS counties). However, while zealously defending the interests of its own people, some leaders of the Slavic Society sometimes behave inappropriately, stirring intolerance towards the representatives of a number of other ethnic groups and blaming all of the misfortunes of ethnic Russians on them (27). In addition to communicating Orthodox religious matters, the printed media of the Russian Orthodox Church provide a lot of space to inform people, primarily the youth, of the negative impact of non-traditional religious organizations (“sects”), such as the Unification Church (Moonites), the Church of Scientology, Fathers, etc (28). The Russian Orthodox Church newspapers Pravoslavnoye Slovo (29) and Alexandro-Nevsky Vestnik (30) published extensive material related to “transcendental meditation,” Baptists, and the so-called “evangelic” sects. The public stance taken by the territorial authorities on the issue of inter-ethnic relations is characterized in general as thoroughly neutral and balanced. In the reported period, the mass media did not publish a single statement of the authorities that would infringe one way or another on the interests of any ethnic group living in the territory. At the same time, a statute “On the 2001 Budget of the Altai Territory” has allocated 393 000 roubles for the publication of the German-language newspaper Zeitung fur Dich. For a long time, the territory did not have an umbrella organization that would unite all of the ethnic civic organizations. The authorities have been supportive of the attempts made by the Russian-German House to become the center of inter-ethnic relations. In 2001, the amount in the territory’s budget allocated for the operation of the Russian-German House was 1 770 000 roubles (31). An overall evaluation of the situation with respect to various religious groups leads one to conclude that the territorial and city (Barnaul) authorities give preference to the Russian Orthodox Church. The Barnaul diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church has received from the authorities a number of buildings for use during worship and financial assistance. An official agreement was signed between the city administration and the Barnaul diocese (32). Due to the assistance of the administration of the territory, the theological school was transformed in 2000 into a theological seminary. Followers of other religions solve their problems practically without any assistance from the authorities. These problems relate primarily to the construction or to the return of worship facilities. The issue of returning to the Catholics a cathedral, which is currently leased to a business organization, has not been resolved yet. Those religious orders that have sufficient financial resources of their own get permits to build new churches and worship houses. The Evangelic Christian Baptists are especially active in this respect. As far as the stance of the territory’s authorities toward the nationalist organizations (like “Black Hundred,” RNE, etc.) is concerned, the law-enforcement and government bodies of the territory have adopted some measures aimed at prevention and containment. According to the deputy administrative head of the territory, Ya. Shoikhet, these measures have significantly reduced the activities of nationalist organizations in 2001 (33). All attempts by RNE and the Information Consulting Anti-Sectarian Center (a group that unites patriotic-minded Russian Orthodox young people who are prone to using aggression in their activities) to obtain a registration in the Altai territory branch of the Ministry of Justice ended in failure. In 2001, the central district court of the city of Barnaul continued a trial against I. Lapkin (of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad). I. Lapkin tried to argue that the child volunteer labor camp of St. Kliment of Ankir had a right to exist. In Lapkin’s opinion, the authorities, represented in court by the chief sanitation inspector of the Mamontoovsky district and the local legislature’s Social Policy Committee consultant, V. Petrenko, are trying to unlawfully close the camp with the assistance of the territory’s mass media and the Russian Orthodox Church (34). * * * By way of conclusion, we shall emphasize that all efforts of the Altai administration in the area of assisting ethnic and religious organizations are currently focused on supporting the Russian Germans and the Russian Orthodox Church. A balance reflective of the interests of different cultural and religious groups should be achieved. A special territorial program for the national and cultural development of the ethnic groups and confessions has to be developed in order to resolve inter-ethnic and inter-religious problems in a successful and operative manner and to prevent any manifestations of nationalism and xenophobia. The program has to rely on a thorough analysis of inter-ethnic and inter-religious relationships. It has to identify major issues and the probable ways to address them. It has to provide for the establishment of a special unit within the territory’s administration that would be responsible for the ongoing monitoring of the inter-ethnic and inter-religious problems and would promptly recommend appropriate measures for their resolution. The program also has to contain a long-term strategic plan aimed at preventing the emergence of nationalism and xenophobia in the Altai territory. (1) For Science (2001, ¹22). (2) The data was taken from the official 2001 Information Digest of the State Statistical Committee in the Altai territory. (3) Official reply received from the deputy head of the Altai territory administration, Ya. Shoikhet. (4) Za Nauku (September 13, 2001, ¹24 (735)). (5) Za Nauku (2001, ¹13). (6) Svobodny Kurs (September 20, 2001, ¹38). (7) Moskovsky Komsomolets na Altaye ( October 11–18, 2001). (8) Moskovsky Komsomolets na Altaye (October 04–11, 2001). (9) Moskovsky Komsomolets na Altaye (April 26 — May 04, 2001). (10) Moskovsky Komsomolets na Altaye (March 01 — 08, 2001). (11) Moskovsky Komsomolets na Altaye (March 08 — 15, 2001). (12) Moskovsky Komsomolets na Altaye (March 22 — 29, 2001). (13) Moskovsky Komsomolets na Altaye (October 11–18, 2001). (14) Moskovsky Komsomolets na Altaye (June 7–14, 2001). (15) Moskovsky Komsomolets na Altaye (January 11–18, 2001). (16) Moskovsky Komsomolets na Altaye (January 15–22, 2001). (17) Moskovsky Komsomolets na Altaye (January 25 — February 01, 2001). (18) Moskovsky Komsomolets na Altaye (March 22–29, 2001). (19) Molodezh Altaya (May 30, 2001, ¹22 (10295)). (20) Molodezh Altaya (March 21, 2001, ¹12 (10285)). (21) Molodezh Altaya (April 25, 2001, ¹17 (10290). (22) Svobodny Kurs (September 20, 2001, ¹38). (23) Svobodny Kurs (August 30, 2001, ¹35). (24) RNE leaflet (2001). (25) Nationalist-Bolshevik Party leaflet (2001). (26) Za Nauku (2001, ¹14). (27) Za Nauku (2001, ¹35). (28) Lampada (2001, ¹1 (62)). (29) Pravoslavnoye Slovo (2001, ¹1 (7)). (30) Alexandro-Nevsky Vestnik (2001, ¹1 (54) and ¹6 (59)). (31) “On the 2001 Budget of the Altai Territory.” (32) Missiya Altai (2001, ¹5). (33) Official reply received from the deputy head of the Altai territory administration, Ya. Shoikhet. (34) Rossiyskaya Gazeta (2000, ¹117 (2481)). Back |
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