Kalmykia to hold a civil protest action against fascism in memory of student killed in Moscow

Tomorrow, on April 24, Kalmykia will hold a civil protest action against xenophobia and fascism in the context of the murder in Russian capital at night on April 21 of Dolgan Nikeev, a student of the Moscow State Open University.

According to the official website of the Russian ICPO, at about 00:10 a.m. on April 21 Dolgan Nikeev and his friend Vladimir Sandzhiev were walking along the Miklukho-Maklai Street to the Moscow metro station. After a while, they had a conflict with two unidentified men who went ahead of them. As a result of the fight that burst out, Nikeev was knifed in the area of his heart and soon died in the place of the incident. Sandzhiev was also wounded with knife in the area of his stomach and was hospitalized. The criminals managed to disappear.

"Under preliminary data, Nikeev was the initiator of the conflict," the ICPO site writes.

However, the "Sova" Information-Analytical Centre considers the murder of the Kalmyk student to be a "crime of hatred", arguing that at night on April 21 three racist attacks were committed in the southwest of Moscow, as a result of which two persons were lost and two more wounded: "All the crimes were committed at approximately same time, in one area and by the attackers whose appearances coincide with those young men who had heavily wounded a man of Arabian origin in the vicinity of No. 114 in the Profsoyuznaya Street and killed a native from Middle Asia near No. 24 in the Miklukho-Maklai Street."

Semyon Ateev, President of the Kalmyk Human Rights Centre, said in his conversation with the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that he was also sure that Dolgan Nikeev's murder had to do with racial hatred. "I've no doubts. When a man goes out into the street with a knife on Hitler's birthday - there's no doubt of his aims. Any other person with non-Slavic appearance could be in the place of the Kalmyk student," Mr Ateev is sure.

The human rights activist said that "not to let them cushion this murder" he sent telegrams his colleagues in a number of the human rights organizations and mass media. "I'm worried that the information about Nikeev's murder was mot mentioned by any federal TV Channel, while, say, the return of the ex-adopted boy from the USA was discussed by them for several weeks," he said.

"The trend towards racial intolerance escalation was observed with Putin's advent to power. Unfortunately, we see today that xenophobic moods in the society are supported by the authorities. Probably, the policy is pursued not without participation of special agencies. Russian leaders can't say frankly to members of national minorities: 'Don't come to Moscow, we don't want to see you here.' But when here such rascals appear in the streets and kill, the authorities can, to some extent, by awing people, restrict the inflow of non-residents," said Mr Ateev.

In his opinion, Kalmyks go to Moscow because of "poverty and hopelessness that reign in their republic."

In his turn, Vladislav Savisko, Ombudsman of Kalmykia, has assured that the case will be brought "to the logic end." He asserts that he has enough levers of influence on the authorities "not to allow the investigation to die out."

Baatr Gindeev, acting interior minister of Kalmykia, also promised to "closely watch the course of events" and said that Moscow militia already has certain "hooks" for the inquiry.

Let us note here that, according to a source in Kalmykia, the student assassinated in Moscow is a nephew of the acting minister.

In the meantime, on April 22, on the following day after Nikeev's murder, Anatoly Kozachko, chairman of the National Hural (Parliament) of Kalmykia, said at a press conference for local mass media that the MPs sent an appeal to the Russian ICPO urging to strengthen control over the investigation of this criminal case.

Meanwhile, the organizers of the civil protest action have accused, in their address to residents of Kalmykia, placed in the website of the IA "Bumbin Orn", local authorities of all levels of their inability and unwillingness to "find the answer to unprecedented fascist terror against our compatriots."

"We have not a drop of desire to seek protection at law and order bodies, as we know in advance that our complaints and application will be braked down; while brutal and heavy crimes will be still qualified as banal hooliganism. We have no choice but to express exclusively civil protest, intended, first of all, to show ourselves that we still remain persons and that we still are indifferent to deaths of innocent people," the statement runs.

The organizers of the action have called the residents of the republic to express their solidarity on April 24 at midday by switching on for one minute of calls of their mobile phones and horns of their car, and also by "bringing flowers and candles to the improvised commemoration place of Dolgan Nikeev and all victims of Nazi terror to the Square of Seven Day Pagoda."

Let us add also here that yesterday, on April 22, an action against xenophobia and fascism took place in the territory of the Kalmyk State University. About 50 persons went out with posters: "There's only one nationality - a human!", "Skin colour is no motive for murder", "We're not Russians, but we're citizens of Russia", "No to skinheads", "It's everyone's matter" and others.