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So, why Russians are so racist? Were they always that racist or is it something new?
More after the jump.
1. Racism is actively promoted by the government
The Russian government, appointed by Putin, failed to diversify the economy which is even to this day pretty much depends on natural resources. Russian ruble is tied to the price of oil. Most areas of Russian economy are in deep trouble. State-owned and managed by Putin's cronies and their offsprings rather than successful managers, most businesses barely survive. Russians see their hard-earned rubles disappear as the prices are going up. Putin cannot tell the public, "Look, it is my mistake. I am an incapable leader, I cannot lead this country out of the deep economic crisis that I helped to create." Instead, he comes up with Kim Jon Un-style propaganda, "everybody is out to get Russia. Our I am the only one who can save it against the U.S. and all the other countries that are out there to get us."
Read this article to find out more: Experts: Kremlin Uses Racism, Crude Anti-Americanism to Mobilize Society
2. Historical reasons
First of all, most Russians look Caucasian. Of course, we know that genotype has nothing to do with phenotype, but "to an untrained eye," they look pretty white.
Dark-skinned people always stand out in the crowd, it is impossible for them to blend in with the rest. Although the Soviet propaganda tried to instill the idea of internationalism, it was still very limited to big cities, where people sometimes could come across an African student or a Cuban visitor. As for the rest of the country, most people could live all their lives without ever getting a chance of meeting someone from another country.
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3. Ignorance of other cultures, religions, and values
If you ever ask a Russian about other cultures or religions, you will be appalled by the level of ignorance. Most Russians are not well-traveled, and even less are well-read. The more educated ones will boldly refuse that they are racists. However, racism has penetrated all levels of the society, even the most educated ones.
From the early days of the Russian Empire Russians used to think that Russian was their country's dominant language, the Russian Orthodox church is the only religion that has the right to exist. When the great majority of people around you is Russian, why bother to learn about other cultures?
4. It is easier to blame others for their own problems
Russia is a developing country and it is ridden with problems. Alcoholism, corruption, low wages... Once you leave Moscow, those problems double or even triple. Some villages still have no running water and the residents have to use common wells thus carrying water by hand. Whom can they blame? The only group of people to blame is the ones who "do not look like them."
5. Lack of self-love, feeling of unworthiness and desire to feel superior
We need to remember that Russians are deeply wounded people living under the brutal authoritarian regime for most of their lives. They are used to being treated as nobody on a daily basis, they are used to being on guard. Their deep psychological problems cannot be resolved without taking it out on somebody else, i.e. immigrants, people from the Caucasus mountains, Americans... It makes them feel better about themselves if they think that everybody else is bad.
6. Racism is associated with lower intelligence
One more reason why Russians are prejudiced against other races. It has been reported that "people of lower intelligence, as measured by cognitive ability, tend to be prejudiced against non-conventional or liberal groups, as well as groups that have little choice in their status, such as people defined by their race, gender, or sexual orientation". Sounds like this fits the profile? Here is the study that actually proves the connection: Study
Since we have been saying it all along, this study does not come as a surprise to us. Russians, eat your seaweed!
7. Last but not least: they do not know what racism is
Yes, this is sad but true. Russians do not really know what racism is. If you ask a Russian, what is racism, they will most likely answer that killing another person because of his race. An ethnic joke does not count. The language of hate, directed towards people of different ethnicity, does not count. To check whether a Russian person understands what racism really is, all you have to do is ask him or her two simple questions:
1. Are you a racist? The answer will always be "no". They might even tell you how anti-racist they are and that they have friends from all over the world.
2. What do you think about Dagestanis and Chechens?
This is where racism begins. They will tell you how bad those Chechens are, and they will provide tons of supporting details. To Russians, it is perfectly normal to "not be a racist" yet hate people from other ethnic backgrounds. Why? Because they do not know better. They were never taught to be tolerant, but they were taught to blame those who are different.
Can racism be eradicated? Probably not. Can racism be reduced? Definitely yes. First of all, people need to create awareness of racism and xenophobia through education. Then they will have to make it socially unacceptable to use ethnic and racial slurs in public. Creating the atmosphere where racism is not tolerated is the first step to preventing racism from spreading. This is no easy task, especially under the current government. Maybe in the next 200 years...
Let me preface this with a disclaimer; I am Russian, so the following is not entirely unbiased. Read it as you will.
ReplyDeleteWith respect to your beliefs, I have always held that a nation's path is its own. Western Europe, America, and many democratic countries have accepted a mantra of "equality" which stigmatizes beliefs often associated to racism (culture warriors and similar.) We must never permit ourselves to feel that Russia, or any country for that matter, should feel compelled to follow suit. The people will choose whether or not to welcome those of diverse background.
Thank you for your polite reply.
ReplyDeleteLet us respectfully disagree on a couple of points:
The main purpose of this post is not to examine whether it is right or wrong for people to choose their own path (by the way, people don't have a choice anyway, they can be easily manipulated by the mass media or simply share the beliefs their social status dictates.)
The purpose of this article is to find the reason why Russian society on the whole is so racist. And there is only one answer to this question: lack of social advancement. Russia is socially behind (just as economically and politically) and therefore fits its "niche" within the global patchwork.
Russians are not taught the simple biological fact that all people, even though different, are created equal from the biological point of view. All people on earth are related to each other and came from Africa. This simple fact can be verified by a simple DNA test.
It is important to note that racism has some biological bias and is hard-wired in our brain. The distrust of those who look different from us was beneficial for survival at some point of human development. However, just as our knowledge of the world expanded, humans learned to recognize, label, and condemn racism, just as humans learned to outlaw cannibalism and then, at some point of their development,
slavery.
Not all societies are so socially advanced to recognize and condemn racism. Some countries are socially behind, and Russia is one of them. In the future, probably in another 30 or 40 years, Russia will become more tolerant and less racist, since this is the only path to social prosperity.
As for your statement that "the people will choose whether or not to welcome those of diverse background" - how would you feel if the same was applied to Russians? If Russians were denied entry or treated differently (worse) than all others worldwide? If there were signs displayed "Russians are not allowed" or any other racial discrimination towards Russians would take place? You would be appalled and state that this is not fair.
Racism is wrong because racism hinders social, political, and, ultimately, economic development. That's the primary reason why they got rid of slavery.
Russians are a long way from realizing this and while following their own path, they will be kept in the dark ages for a long time.
However, the reality of the 'racism' that we're dealing with has a heavy dependence on stereotyping of cultures, what they've achieved and created, in relation with the characteristic phenotype/genotype of the cultures. If blacks/subsharan africans were a pinnacle of human achievement and creation, they would be much revered, same with Middle Easterners, Indians, Chinese,… and such. Tribalism is fine and dandy,… but, in degrees of preference, and not blindly across the board, for the matter of progression, which can be good, but not necessarily. 'Progress' is what killed a majority of the population of the Americas,… be default, due to disease brought by Europeans. But, we're beyond that matter now, right?
DeleteAnyway, kinship is good. We've come a long way in the making of subpopulations since leaving Africa some 75 or so thousand years ago. Distinctions of populations develop,… tribal characteristics.
Kinship is good when people from a major ethnicity do not discriminate (or even kill) people from a minor ethnicity. And then it is no longer kinship but racism (borderline genocide).
DeleteWhen you figure out WHY Sub-Saharan Africa is still poor and undeveloped, you will answer the question why racism is wrong.
Wow... The reply of that Russian sums everything up in one, what a weird ignorant set of people.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment.
ReplyDeleteThe most interesting thing is that if you actually trace the DNA of Slavic people, ALL OF THEM came from Central Asia (just like all people of European origin came from Central Asia). All people on earth are genetically related. They do not teach this in Russian schools. According to Russian nationalists, Russians suddenly appeared out of thin air and always lived on Slavic lands (which in fact is not true).
The ignorance comes from lack of education and being behind times in scientific knowledge (and everything else for that matter).
"The rise of Russian nationalism, cultivated by president Putin since his rise into power in 1999, created a fertile ground for racism." - this is not the case actually. When Putin came to power racism reduced somewhat. And, more important, the most powerful neo-Nazi groups such as RNE were destroyed. Under Yeltsin racism was greater. But in recent years racism rises again somewhat.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see that so many Putin supporters (apologists) always compare Putin to Yeltsin and Putin's years in power to the 90s.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, let's look at the facts. When Putin came to power in 1999, racism increased significantly. Here is the proof:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_Russia#/media/File:Chart_-_Russia_for_Russians_(1998-2011).svg
Racism decreased somewhat in 2008, but not enough to claim that Russia is racism-free. Russia is still a very racist country, and the decline was insignificant.
Secondly, please compare Russia to other European countries where racism is actually going down and, in some countries, is virtually non-existent.
90s were turbulent years in Russian history, and low oil prices did not let the economy develop. To compare everything to the 90s is like comparing everything to the war. However, when the oil prices went up, Putin, instead of developing Russia economically, politically and socially took Russia 100 years back. Racism in Russia is very close to racism in every undeveloped third-world country. There is absolutely no difference.
The only way to decrease racism is to develop Russia in all aspects. Russia will change under a different leadership. It will take decades, but Russia is going to change.
Wow..I have read almost all your thoughts on Russia and you have probably answered all my questions, learnt stuff I didn't realise existed in Russia..its a nice read.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I can't help but think whether you really love Russia and you want it a better place or you just hate the mentality of Russians. .just saying!
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ReplyDelete