Russians Fear Returning Veterans, Thus Isolating Them and Making Them More Likely to Engage in Violence, ‘Barometer’ Sociologist Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 17 – The dominant emotion Russians feel about returning  veterans is fear that they will engage in violent crime, Asmik Novikova says; and that is “very bad” because it means society will isolate those veterans, limit their re-integration into society, and thus make it more likely that they will commit crimes.

            The sociologist at the Barometer Research Group says that a recent survey by her organization found that many Russians are afraid of the returning veterans and what they will do and that this is isolating veterans and making it more likely these fears will become self-fulfilling prophecies (cherta.media/interview/vernuvshiesya-s-vojny-i-nasilie/).

            The reason this is so, Novikova says, is “simple: the higher the level of stigmatization, the greater the information blockade becomes and as a result the greater unpredictability of what can be expected from a stigmatized group.” She says that with rare exceptions, there has not been any crime wave; but the attitudes of Russians who didn’t go to war may help produce one.