On April 5, the “Anti-Semitism in Russia in 2011-2012” report, prepared by the Expert Group on Anti-Semitism of the Russian Jewish Community, was presented at the Moscow House of Nationalities. The Expert Group was created several years ago with EAJC support.

Among the members of the expert group who took part in the presentation were: EAJC Secretary General, Vice President of the Federal Jewish National Cultural Autonomy, Professor Michael Chlenov; historian, journalist, and the Coordinator of the Expert Group Semen Charny; Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Anti-Fascism Center Victor Dashevsky; Press Secretary of the Head Rabi of Russia Mikhail Lidogoster; lawyer, President of the Russian Section of the International Society for Human Rights Vladimir Novitsky.

As the authors of the report note, that, once anti-Semitism in modern Russia is examined in detail, it becomes obvious that the state anti-Semitism which had been a part of the the USSR's policy for dozens of years is now in the past. The active anti-Zionist rhethoric that was the cover for state anti-Semitism has also fallen to the periphery of political life. At the same time, the so-called “new anti-Semitism,” which has taken root over the last years in Western countries and which is based on an aggressive rejection of the State of Israel and its policy, has not become widespread in Russia. It is possible this is due to the obvious rapprochement of Russia and Israel, which are seen as problem state by “progressive global society.” The fact that the two countries face similar challenges in standing against aggressive Islamism also aids the rapprochement. Israel is also open to a wide group of Russians, as well as is home to hundreds of thousands of our former compatriots – the family, friends, and acquaintances of Russian citizens – and this has changed the perception of the Jewish state, which used to be seen as demonic. The annual thousands of Russian tourists who visit Israel have aided in establishing a more objective view of Israel than the one which used to exist previously.

At the same time, popular anti-Semitism still exists in Russia, though it is less obvious to the untrained eye. Both social and so-called intellectual anti-Semitism still persist, with intellectual anti-Semitism making it into scholarly works, into textbooks for schools and universities. Even though the number of obviously anti-Semitic periodicals has perceptibly decreased, Judophobic hackneyed phrases and anti-Semitic passages are still often found in books sold everywhere. And the legal system is not only unprepared to deal with these circumstances, but displays no desire to intrude upon the shaky ground of inter-ethnic relations.

As early as a dozen years ago, one could have heard obviously anti-Semitic statements during the State Duma sessions or in the interviews of public political figures. It is not likely that the majority of Russian politicians and state officials have been cured of Judophobia, but it seems to have become unseemly to express anti-Semitic views in public, at least in the capital of Russia. At the same time, anti-Semitic rhethoric can sometimes be seen in political campaigns. This can be seen in the pre-electoral practices of certain parties of the Russian Parliament, usually in their campaigns that take place in the regions. But most often this can be seen in massive rallies involving fringe nationalistic groups. These organizations, even being on the fringes of political life, nonetheless have an active group of key members and work actively with youths to attract new members. Representatives of different anti-Semitic groups actively disseminate anti-Semitic propaganda throughout the Internet. These activities are also not given adequate notice by law enforcement.

The decreased amount of aggressive attacks against Jews despite the presence of latent anti-Semitism in society can be explained additionally by the decrease of the relative number of Jews in society due to emigration and the difficulty of distinguishing Jews from other Russians. It is obvious that, in recent years, as the flow of work immigration increased, the portrait of the “enemy” in the eyes of the xenophobic part of society was transferred from the Jews to the peoples from Middle Asia and the Caucasus. Additionally, the general growth of xenophobia might, in time, reflect negatively upon Jews.

The participants of the presentation stated that the problem of anti-Semitism in Russia has changed, but not disappeared, requires careful study and new approaches in counter-action.