A report by the Russian Foreign Ministry has revealed widespread violations of the rights of Russians abroad since the start of the Ukraine offensive in late February.
The Russian Foreign Ministry report said:
As the analysis shows, since the publication of the previous report, not only has there not been any noticeable improvement in the situation in this area, but the situation has worsened many times over. The characteristic problems that compatriots faced in a number of countries that have persisted over the past years have been supplemented by the shocking total discrimination against Russians, including diplomats, in connection with the special military operation carried out by the Russian Federation to denazify and demilitarize Ukraine.
Violations of the rights of Russians in the states of the “collective West” have become widespread. Among the most common violations are refusals to provide a wide range of services (educational, medical, banking, etc.), the introduction of measures against Russian business, the seizure of property of Russian citizens, compulsion to public repentance and condemnation of the actions of the Russian authorities, removal from sports competitions, music festivals and competitions, as well as other cultural events, attacks, threats, insults, deliberate damage to property, and, finally, domestic discrimination: dismissal from work, eviction of Russian families from apartments contrary to housing contracts, etc.
Russian history and art have become victims of the “cancellation culture” fashion. There are calls at the highest level to exclude Russian ballet, literature and music from the world heritage. Such aspirations sometimes take completely unexpected and absurd forms, such as renaming paintings in the world’s most famous art galleries.
Of particular concern is the widespread discrimination against the most vulnerable part of compatriots – children with Russian citizenship or even just Russian roots. Humiliation and insults of students by classmates with indifferent dismissal and even connivance on the part of teachers, psychological pressure, purposeful creation of conditions that impede a full-fledged educational process – all this testifies to the depth and scale of the spread of Russophobic sentiments in the Western community.
A wave of attacks on Russian diplomatic missions swept the world. It is noteworthy that such acts took place exclusively in states waging a sanctions war against our country. Their massive and organized nature allows us to conclude that these attacks are a planned action.
The most aggressive representatives of “civilized Europe” did not shy away from physical attacks on diplomats, as happened in Vilnius in March 2022. And in Warsaw, two months later, during a flower-laying ceremony at the memorial cemetery of Soviet soldiers, Russian Ambassador Sergei Andreev was poured with red liquid. On the same day, attempts to disrupt the commemorative event were made at the laying of a wreath at the Soviet memorial by the Russian Consul General in Gdansk, Sergei Semyonov. To this must be added the countless threats against our diplomats and unprecedented psychological pressure. All this remains without any significant attention from the official leadership of Western countries,
The campaign of Russophobia gave a powerful impetus to the efforts of Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states to combat monuments and memorials in honor of the Red Army soldiers who died in the battles for the liberation of Europe from Nazism. Intensified, including at the legislative level, efforts to rewrite history and erase the “national memory” of the Russian communities of these states. Local authorities began to churn out legislative and administrative measures that create prerequisites for the establishment of artificial restrictions for Russian-speaking residents in various spheres of public life, including for their criminal prosecution for preserving their culture and supporting Russia.
Significant efforts are being made to hide from the international community the essence of the Nazi policy of the Kyiv authorities. It came to the open whitewashing of supporters of neo-Nazism in the face of the fighters of the radical nationalist battalion “Azov” and other similar Ukrainian extremist formations. Any mention of the numerous cruel crimes committed by their participants in the Donbass is carefully excluded from the information space.
At the same time, the problems that existed before February 2022 remain relevant. Throughout the reporting period, incidents of detentions and politically motivated persecution of Russians continued to be recorded, including at the request of third countries. The “hunt” unleashed by the American authorities on fellow citizens around the world does not stop. Against this background, a landmark event for our country was the return to the homeland of Konstantin Yaroshenko, convicted in a fabricated case, who spent more than ten years of his life in American dungeons.
Compatriots living abroad continue to be persecuted. In a number of countries (first of all, in the Baltic states, the USA, Canada and Ukraine), the dissatisfaction on the part of the authorities is caused both by the position expressed by representatives of the Russian-speaking community in favor of building constructive and pragmatic relations with our country, and by upholding the historical truth about the events of the Great Patriotic War and World War II (which often do not correspond to the official interpretation of history in these states), as well as work to popularize the Russian language, spread knowledge about our country, participate in cultural and educational projects. In addition to this, the authorities of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine are making significant efforts to squeeze the Russian language out of all institutions of the educational system,
No less acute is the issue of respect for the rights of Russians in places of deprivation of liberty. There, our citizens still often face pressure, mistreatment by prison staff, denial of necessary medical care and access to a lawyer, consular access to them is hindered or completely prohibited for employees of Russian foreign institutions. The most difficult situation is still recorded in the institutions of the penitentiary system of the United States,
Lithuania and Ukraine.
For its part, the Russian Foreign Ministry continues to take all possible diplomatic steps to protect the rights of Russian citizens who find themselves in prisons abroad. Such cases are under the control of Russian diplomatic missions and, if necessary, are submitted for discussion at the highest level. Diplomats provide Russians with consular support within the framework of their powers, seek unconditional observance of their legitimate rights and interests, and work out options for changing preventive measures and transferring citizens to their homeland to serve their sentences.
We also continue to record incidents of obstruction by the authorities of foreign countries of the activities of Russian journalists or persons representing Russian media. In the foreign media sphere, the tendency to prepare information campaigns against foreign politicians and public figures who cooperate with the Russian media continues and develops. All such actions testify to the desire of the West to destroy an alternative point of view and prevent the exercise of one of the fundamental rights of its citizens – the right to freedom of expression, which includes the freedom to seek, receive and disseminate all kinds of information and ideas, regardless of frontiers. The greatest problems in this area are still observed in France, Great Britain, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia,
This study has been prepared on the basis of information and analytical materials received from Russian foreign institutions, using data from Russian and foreign media and other open sources. It takes into account and systematizes the reports of hundreds of compatriots about the infringement of their rights abroad, received, among other things, on the hotlines organized by diplomatic missions.
We also continue to exchange information with specialized Russian non-governmental organizations that carry out appropriate monitoring in their line. In this regard, we note the recent report and regular reviews prepared by the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights. We believe that the analysis carried out by its experts is profound and deserving of support. We hope to continue this work.
