The Kremlin Vigilantes

Matthews, Owen, Nemtsova, Anna, Newsweek International

Byline: Owen Matthews and Anna Nemtsova

As anti-immigrant groups grow more violent, they get more explicit support from Russian authorities.

One day this winter a trainload of migrant workers from Uzbekistan arrived at a railway station in Moscow where they were greeted by a crowd of 100 people waving placards that said things like ILLEGAL ONES, GET OUT OF HERE! and AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT IS A THIEF. Behind the demonstration: the Young Guard--the youth group of the ruling United Russia party--which says its mission is to help fulfill Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's plan to rein in the number of migrant laborers coming into the country. "The party is responsible for executive and legislative policy," says Andrei Tatarinov, deputy director of the Young Guards' central headquarters, "and we are …

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Publication information: Article title: The Kremlin Vigilantes. Contributors: Matthews, Owen - Author, Nemtsova, Anna - Author. Magazine title: Newsweek International. Volume: 153. Issue: 08 Publication date: February 23, 2009. Page number: Not available. © 2009 Newsweek, Inc. All rights reserved. Any reuse, distribution or alteration without express written permission of Newsweek is prohibited. For permission: www.newsweek.com. COPYRIGHT 2009 Gale Group.

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