The main policy priority of the Kremlin – “interethnic and interreligious harmony in Russia” – is under serious threat, Western media believe.
On Sunday, the world was shocked by the news of an aggressive mob storming the airport in Makhachkala (Degestan). The Muslim population in this region of Russia was outraged by a flight that arrived from Israel. What Western observers think about this and how it will affect the situation in the Russian Federation, read the story Correspondent.net.
Journalists from the British newspaper The Guardian wrote that the unrest appears to have been inspired by a series of Telegram messages, in which subscribers were informed that a plane from Tel Aviv with refugees from Israel was coming that night. Moreover, the police did not respond when the protesters entered the main terminal of the airport and entered the restricted areas.
The publication mentions the channel Morning of Dagestan, which they said encouraged its followers to lay siege to the airport and interrogate passengers. Journalists also quoted Sergei Melikov, the leader of Dagestan, who blamed external forces for the unrest, also saying that it happened “through fake news spread by their enemies.”
At the same time, the newspaper quoted Ovadiy Isakov, a representative of the local Jewish community, who said that the situation in Dagestan was very difficult and called on Israeli citizens not to go to the Russian Federation, because “Russia is not the their safety.” In addition, the article states that anti-Jewish protests took place not only in Makhachkala, but also in the Dagestan city of Khasavyurt, where protesters were looking for “Jewish refugees .” Also in Nalchik, the Jewish center burned down.
The German publication Deutsche Welle published a material examining Russia’s accusations of Ukraine as a “provocateur of conflict.” They refer to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova, who said that “the criminal Kiev regime played a direct and important role in committing the latest destructive act.” He accused Kremlin critic Ilya Ponomarev of orchestrating the incident. He is a former Russian deputy living in Ukraine.
In response, German journalists said it was unusual for Moscow to blame external forces, including Western countries, for internal turmoil in Russia. They also cited the words of the Advisor to the President of Ukraine Mikhail Podolyak that “Ukraine has nothing in common with the latest large-scale development of xenophobic sentiments on the territory of the Russian Federation.”
The Israeli publication The Times of Israel also paid attention to the situation with the accusation of Ukraine. The newspaper quoted Vladimir Putin, who accused Western and Ukrainian intelligence services of “provocations” in Makhachkala. That this conflict is “beneficial to the United States and its satellites, and they are the ones who will benefit from global instability.”
Journalists cited the words of the Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel, Yevgeny Korniychuk, who rejected Russian accusations of Kyiv’s involvement in the events at the airport, saying that the Russian authorities were behind the crowd.
“They brought security forces to the airport, but they sat on the sidelines and smoked cigarettes. They didn’t do anything,” he told The Times of Israel.
The ambassador also said that chaos was predictable after receiving the Hamas delegation and that pogroms against Jews were used back in Tsarist Russia. And he added that Ukrainian intelligence has been cooperating with Israeli intelligence since “the first day” immediately after the Hamas invasion.
In addition, the White House also said that the unrest was reminiscent of “pogroms” from previous periods of history, and the State Department called Russia’s accusations against Ukraine absurd.
Journalists also noted that Sunday’s anti-Semitic riots occurred four days after Putin convened religious leaders, declaring that “reconciliation between religions is the basis of the Russian state.”
The material of the New York Times, in turn, focused on the internal problems of the Kremlin and the difficulties it faces in the internal government.
Ethnic tensions in the North Caucasus, according to journalists, are a major risk factor for overall stability in Russia, given the recent history of war in the region and cases of terrorism in Chechnya and Dagestan. In total, about 25 million Muslims live in Russia, and this population is growing rapidly, the journalists added.
Putin has called interethnic and interreligious “harmony” in Russia one of his policy priorities. Anti-Israel and anti-Semitic protests in the North Caucasus region, which includes Dagestan, where Putin fought his first war as Russia’s leader, could jeopardize that goal at a time when the Kremlin is fighting also in a long and bloody war in Ukraine.
The war in Ukraine “radicalized Russian society,” and this radicalization can explain the aggressive storming at the airport in Makhachkala, the publication believes.
In conclusion, journalists quoted Vladimir Zelensky, who said that “for Russian propaganda speakers on official television, hate speech is routine.”
Victor Kovalchuk, specialist in international issues at the research company Sotsiopolis and Olesya Krasnolutskaya
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.