November 19, 2024

Watch Your Mother Tongue


Watch Your Mother Tongue
Flag of Azerbaijan in Baku. Gulustan, Wikimedia Commons.

A group of international university students in Moscow is being investigated for terrorism for shouting slogans in Azerbaijani and carrying the country's flag. The investigation comes amids=t a rise in xenophobia and racism across Russia since the Crocus City Hall shooting.

On the morning of November 16, a video circulated of Azerbaijani students shouting inside a university staircase. Some of them were wearing the country's flag on their backs. In the recording, the students can be heard saying the country's name and another phrase in Azerbaijani.

The ultra-right-wing Telegram channel that shared the video, "Mnogonatsional," falsely claimed that the students were chanting "Cut the Russians." After better-quality versions surfaced, "Mnogonatsional" changed its tune. The channel later said that the students were chanting "Long live Azerbaijan" and were not inciting violence, while still using racist language against the students. The Investigative Committee of Moscow is investigating the veracity of the video and assessing whether they were shouting "illegal slogans."

It remains unclear whether the events occurred at the University of Finance and Law of Moscow or the Finance University of the Russian Government. However, the students were holding the flag of the former institution. The University of Finance and Law of Moscow denied the events took place inside its premises. Yet, in a statement, the academic institution's representatives called the students "provocateurs" and added that their authorities were collaborating with the police in their investigation.

The University of Finance and Law said that while it embraced "a multicultural, multiracial, multiethnic, and inclusive regimen of education and employment," it would expel the chant leaders. 

In this latest wave of racism and xenophobia, Russia has seen record deportations of migrants, largely from Central Asian countries like Azerbaijan.

You Might Also Like

From immigrant to emigrant
  • November 10, 2024

From immigrant to emigrant

Russian immigration authorities recently deported some 20,000 immigrants, part of an ongoing immigration crackdown.
Population Problems
  • October 23, 2024

Population Problems

According to a UN report, Russian population numbers may have already passed their peak. 
Deportations Double
  • June 03, 2024

Deportations Double

The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported dramatic increases in deportations and entry refusals. 
Migrant Flow Slows to Trickle
  • February 25, 2024

Migrant Flow Slows to Trickle

Immigration into Russia from Central Asian countries has slowed since the start of Russia's War on Ukraine.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
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.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
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.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it 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