Racism on the Rise in Russia as Moscow Includes Discriminatory Language in Government Contracts, ‘Systema’ Reports

Paul Goble
    Staunton, Mar. 20 – Despite the provisions of the Russian constitution and law, racist discrimination against ethnic minorities and immigrants has long been a fact of life in the Russian Federation. But now it is getting worse because government contracts are including racist language and suggesting that such behavior now enjoys official backing, Systema reports.  
    Ads for rental properties in Russia have long featured language specifying that only Russians need apply, and companies have declared that any new hires “must look like Slavs,” according to the investigative arm of RFE/RL (t.me/systemasystema/149 discussed at meduza.io/en/feature/2025/03/21/must-have-slavic-appearance).
    The Russian government has periodically attacked such private actions, but now it is sending a very different signal, Systema reports, by including similar language in government contracts that intentionally or not gives Russians thinking about engaging in such discriminatory behavior that doing so is perfectly all right with the Putin regime.
    Among the cases Systema documents are a requirement that contractors for cleaning services at Moscow’s Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology “have a Slavic appearance” (zakupki.gov.ru/epz/order/notice/notice223/common-info.html?noticeInfoId=17547742) and a demand by the Moscow funeral corporation that only :Slavic nationalities” are allowed to enter (zakupki.gov.ru/epz/order/extendedsearch/results.html?searchString=31807167682&fz223=on)
    Particularly egregious was a declaration that those working for the Russian National Guard’s Military Canine Center cannot include “foreign nationals” or “persons of Caucasian nationality,” even though there is no such thing as the latter and this is code language for Muslim groups in Russia (zakupki.gov.ru/epz/order/notice/ea44/view/common-info.html?regNumber=0373100040418000023).
    Stefania Kulayeva of the Memorial Human Rights Center told Systema that “racism in Russia extends far beyond hiring practices” with officials in various institutions “fueling” such hatreds by declaring as one interior ministry employee did that Moscow needs to “lighten up” its population by excluding those with darker skins (kommersant.ru/doc/6862614)