October 31, 2023

An Unwelcome Arrival


An Unwelcome Arrival
Protesters in Dagestan about to surround an airplane from Israel. Youtube, Meduza.

On September 29, a group of protesters in the Makhachkala, Dagestan airport surrounded and attempted to storm a plane that landed from Tel Aviv, Israel.

Before the flight arrived, Telegram channels began circulating information about a flight with evacuees from Israel arriving in Dagestan. They called for people to gather at the airport and stop cars to check passengers' passports. Protesters even stopped an OMON (riot police) van. One passenger who was encircled by picketers was let go after saying he was Russian and showing his Russian passport. He was allegedly told, "We are not touching non-Jews today."

A few hours later, protesters broke into the airport itself, chanting antisemitic slurs. Staffers locked themselves inside their offices. The police called through a megaphone to refrain from unlawful activity, such as blocking roads, but said they understood the protesters and were ready to chant with them. Police did not intervene until the crowd broke through to the tarmac and headed toward the plane.

At that point, the airport was temporarily shut down. Authorities opened an investigation and said they would use CCTV footage to identify rioters. 

Israel's siege and bombardments of Gaza, in response to Hamas' October 7 terrorist attacks, have sparked international outrage and protests. Chechnya and Dagestan, predominantly Muslim regions, have expressed a strong connection to Palestinians. Dagestani wrestler Islam Makhachev has voiced solidarity with Gazans. Flights between Tel Aviv and Makhachala, Dagestan, are common as a connection flight to Moscow, as direct flights to the Russian capital are more expensive.

Only a few hours prior, the Head of Dagestan asked the population to refrain from acts of violence in response to Israel's actions in Gaza. Over the past few days, though, a series of anti-Semitic incidents have occurred across the North Caucasus. A Jewish cultural center was set on fire, and there was an attack on a hotel where, allegedly, people who left Israel were staying.

You Might Also Like

Laying Low
  • August 15, 2023

Laying Low

The tale of René Coignard, who changed his name and spent six months hiding in a wooden hut to escape the draft.
US Reroutes Aid
  • October 27, 2023

US Reroutes Aid

Thousands of artillery shells meant for Ukraine will be sent to Israel to replenish depleted U.S. stocks.
Escaping the Draft – in Israel
  • October 23, 2023

Escaping the Draft – in Israel

Russian-Israelis want to return to Russia to avoid being drafted into Israel's military. But Russia is also conscripting.
Russia Reacts to Gaza War
  • October 16, 2023

Russia Reacts to Gaza War

400 Russians asked to be evacuated from Gaza as Israel ordered the evacuation of 1.1 million people.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955