As a Russian, I confirm racism is rampant in the country. I don't know if it is even waning anymore, considering the increasingly strong orthodox church and bigotry as indicated by the ongoing war and popularity of the regime that started it.
Anyone who thinks otherwise: go out and talk to ethnically Asian people more. (For an outsider, keep in mind that anywhere in Russian Siberia there are very large indigenous Asian populations in proportion to total.)
My Asian friends are routinely discriminated against purely based on their appearance: subject to searches at subway entrances, subject to disdainful attitude by government officials, salespeople and other citizens. They will have trouble renting flats, etc.
This is significantly worse in western parts of Russia (where you can be targeted by gangs and skinheads), but is still present in their part of the country.
And it is those who were lucky to have gone to good schools and speak perfect Russian. Things are dimmer for someone who has a stronger accent.
Most of my Asian friends never talk about it, but one did, after which I started making observations and reevaluating past ones and recognized that it is very much true.
Those of middle eastern ethnicities (often immigrants and their descendants) have likely even harder time.
> As a Russian, I confirm racism is rampant in the country. I don't know if it is even waning anymore...
Yeah, I had my doubts too. The Wikipedia article claims that racist attacks have been on the decline, and supports that claim with some statistics from the SOVA Center. But I wouldn't be surprised at all if that were simply because those attacks have become so commonplace that they aren't reported at all, or that reports are being actively suppressed.
Anyone who thinks otherwise: go out and talk to ethnically Asian people more. (For an outsider, keep in mind that anywhere in Russian Siberia there are very large indigenous Asian populations in proportion to total.)
My Asian friends are routinely discriminated against purely based on their appearance: subject to searches at subway entrances, subject to disdainful attitude by government officials, salespeople and other citizens. They will have trouble renting flats, etc.
This is significantly worse in western parts of Russia (where you can be targeted by gangs and skinheads), but is still present in their part of the country.
And it is those who were lucky to have gone to good schools and speak perfect Russian. Things are dimmer for someone who has a stronger accent.
Most of my Asian friends never talk about it, but one did, after which I started making observations and reevaluating past ones and recognized that it is very much true.
Those of middle eastern ethnicities (often immigrants and their descendants) have likely even harder time.