Non-Russians Face Widespread Discrimination in Housing – Except in Non-Russian Republics

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Dec. 19 – Russian law prohibits anyone who wants to rent or sell property from declaring that they will do so “only to Slavs” or even “only to ethnic Russians. But that form of discrimination against non-Russians remain widespread – except in non-Russian republics where few owners violate this law, according to a Replika investigation.

            Replika examined advertisements in 30 urban markets across the Russian Federation and found that advertisers in these places ranged from two to three percent to more than seven percent of all posted on Avito portal where owners can advertise housing for rent or sale (thereplica.io/post/ethnic-discrimination).

            Avito does not police itself, telling advertisers that they must obey all Russian laws but not refusing to post advertisements that violate the law, Replika says. But this is only the tip of the iceberg as far as this problem is concerned because many owners don’t post this information but discriminate against non-Slavs or non-Russians on basis of name or appearance.

            Moreover, the authorities rarely bring cases against those who violate this law; and when they do, the news portal says, they do not impose significant punishments. As a result, while such discrimination remains illegal as Moscow is proud to point out, it continues and affects hundreds if not thousands of residents of the Russian Federation every year.

            The happy exception to this pattern is to be found in non-Russian republics where it is rare, perhaps because people there have either learned to live with members of other nationalities more comfortably or believe that non-Russian officials will enforce the law more vigorously and that there is a greater risk that those who violate it will not escape punishment.

            This is yet another reason why non-Russians oppose the demise of their republics, something Vladimir Putin has tried in fits and starts by trying to amalgamate them with neighboring and predominately ethnic Russian oblasts and krays -- and why loyalty among non-Russians to these republics may in fact be growing rather than declining, despite widespread suggestions to the contrary.