Medvedev Says Ethnic Enclaves in Russian Cities ‘Breeding Grounds’ for Extremism

Paul Goble
    Staunton, Dec. 25 – Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and now deputy had of the Russian Security Council, says that “ethnic enclaves” now emerging in Russian cities can become “breeding grounds for extremism,” impose “a very serious burden” on Russia’s social sphere, and “in some cases can become a cause of inter-ethnic tensions.”
    “Ethnic enclaves” is the term Russian officials use for “ghettos,” a phenomenon that they insist does not exist in their country (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2023/02/there-are-no-ghettos-in-russia-moscow.html and windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2022/08/ethnic-enclaves-becoming-reality-in.html).
    But the utility of ethnic enclaves as a euphemism for ghettos is wearing thin, and Medvedev’s remarks (nazaccent.ru/content/43334-dmitrij-medvedev-etnicheskie-anklavy-v-rossii-mogut-stat-rassadnikami-ekstremizma/) seem certain to prompt more Russians to think about and even speak of ghettos in their country.
    In the currently overheated environment about immigrants and their families, that could lead to new moves against migrant workers. But it could also lead to moves against any concentration in residence patterns of non-Russians as has already happened with the Roma (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2024/12/after-korkino-pogrom-hostility-toward.html).
    And that in turn could spark conflicts between other larger indigenous nationalities and ethnic Russians, not only in the largest cities but in smaller ones as well, where some Russian research has suggested these minority ethnic enclaves are growing most rapidly (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2013/10/window-on-eurasia-ethnic-enclaves.html).