Yandieva: anti-immigrant authorities' actions are good cover for nationalists

The anti-immigrant campaign launched in Russia has been initiated by federal authorities with the aim to divert public attention from everyday problems and strengthen their political influence, assert the intellectuals questioned by the "Caucasian Knot".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 21 activists of Russian human rights organizations spread an appeal addressed to the Russian intelligentsia inviting to speak out against the campaign against illegal migrants launched in the country.

According to Maryam Yandieva, a candidate of philology and a 2005 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, the anti-immigrant trend in the society had long been witnessed.

"At times it gains momentum by bringing death to innocent people, then, comes down. The actions that discredit the authorities began in the fall of 1992 in the Prigorodny District (the Ossetian-Ingush conflict, – note of the "Caucasian Knot"), then, the two Chechen Wars followed," Ms Yandieva is sure. In her opinion, what is happening now can be treated as ethnic cleansings.

"This is a nice cover for nationalists. Unfortunately, in principle, we can state the stability of an absolutely anti-people state system," she has concluded.

The anti-immigrant campaign has been obviously initiated by the authorities, Professor Yavuz Akhmadov, a Doctor of Historical Sciences and specialist of the Caucasus, is sure.

He compares the current social and political situation with those of the times when Jews were persecuted or those during the Chechen Wars and notes that the less objective information about natives of Northern Caucasus is available, the easier it is to cultivate the feeling of hostility towards migrants. The mass media that whip up resentments are causing a great influence on the public opinion.