The Muslim spiritual leader for northwestern Russia condemned on Friday the recent outbreak of race-hate crimes in St. Petersburg and Moscow and urged young Russians to refrain from violence.
Mufti Zhafyar Ponchayev called on "all young people to take a breath, not succumb to short-term temptation, and to realize that the greatness and power of Russia is based on its great number of nationalities, centuries-old friendships, and deep respect for the traditions and cultures of peoples living in our motherland."
Standing behind the recent disorders, Ponchayev said, is a group of people who want to spark interethnic and inter-race hatred and destroy the country.
Yegor Sviridov, 28, was killed in a brawl in northern Moscow between football fans and migrants from the North Caucasus in November. The death triggered race-hate riots and attacks on migrants in Moscow and St. Petersburg over the weekend. In Moscow, a 5,000-strong crowd of nationalists and football hooligans clashed with police at central Manezh Square.
The clash was followed on Wednesday by further disturbances as ethnic Russians and internal migrants gathered for a confrontation near a major train terminus.
A spate of race-hate attacks since the weekend and reports of more clashes to come have left the Russian capital on edge.
ST. PETERSBURG, December 17 (RIA Novosti)
