Neo-Nazi Gang on Trial in Nizhny Novgorod
A gang of seven neo-Nazi university and high school students face multiple murder and assault charges, according to a January 19, 2010 report by the news web site Newsru.com. The gang came to the police's attention after one of its members shot his professor dead in a dispute over his behavior in class. The gang allegedly killed four other people, mostly from the Caucasus, and also committed four assaults and several robberies, targeting either minorities or anti-fascist activists. According to police, the gang met in an extremist Internet forum.
Two neo-Nazis killed a man in a village near Kaliningrad, Russia, according to a January 12, 2010 article in the Kaliningrad edition of the national daily "Komsomolskaya Pravda." The suspects allegedly hit their victim with metal pipes and then kicked him in the head repeatedly with heavy boots in Kosmodemyanskoe. The suspects reportedly confessed to the killing, stating that their motivation was that the victim was a drug addict and that they had decided "to cleanse the earth of that sub-human." Russian neo-Nazis usually attack ethnic and religious minorities, but have also gone after ethnic Russian homeless people and drug addicts.
Tver Prosecutors Charge Neo-Nazi Gang With Extremism
Prosecutors in Tver, Russia have completed their investigation into a neo-Nazi gang and sent charging documents to a court, according to a January 11, 2010 report by the RIA-Novosti news service. Five members of the "Nordic Front" face extremism charges after being accused of pasting neo-Nazi leaflets and painting graffiti on buildings around the city. All the suspects are minors from prosperous families, an increasingly common phenomenon in Russia.
St. Petersburg Police Detain Neo-Nazi
Police in St. Petersburg, Russia detained a 17 year old neo-Nazi on unspecified charges, according to a January 11, 2010 report by the Sova Information-Analytical Center. While it is not clear what motivated the police to search the suspect's apartment initially, investigators found a variety of weapons in the apartment.
No Charges for Members of Antisemitic Mob in Moldova
Prosecutors in Moldova have refused to bring charges against members of an antisemitic mob that tore down a menorah in the capital Chisinau and put up a cross in its place while chanting antisemitic slogans, according to a January 6, 2009 report by Jewish.ru. Despite video clips seen all over the world on Youtube and other sites that show clear violations of Moldova's laws against inciting ethnic and religious hatred, as well as the faces of those who tore down the menorah, the prosecutor's office claims that it has found no evidence that a crime was committed. The incident generated widespread criticism from the international Jewish community, as well as the condemnation of the Moldovan government.
Outgoing President Yushchenko, who lost the presidential elections on January 17, signed a decree conferring Bandera, the head of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) in 1941-1959, the status of a national hero.
