There are many cases in history when one nation puts itself higher than another, despite the fact that various philosophical and religious teachings call for equality. This behavior leads to conflicts that can occur between two or more people. Any actions that may give rise to such disputes are characterized as inciting ethnic hatred.
Cases in the modern world
A striking example of ethnic hatred was the act of Turpal Khasiev, a native of Chechnya, who threw a can from an energy drink at the bus passenger and rudely called for him to say “Ahmad-force,” while calling him his brother. The young man posted a video on one of the most popular video hosting sites. The recording was seen by the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov, who personally ordered Turpal Khasiev to suffer the deserved punishment - a young man sweeping the streets of Grozny, planting flowers and watering them. R. Kadyrov noted that Turpal’s act is in no way an embodiment of the Chechen people, its traditions and customs.
In the described case, the authorities immediately responded to the fact of ethnic hatred. But it happens, and vice versa, when representatives of the authorities contribute to the emergence of hostility on ethnic grounds. For example, after the collapse of the USSR, the so-called non-citizen status appeared in Latvia, according to which several nations, being residents of the country, were limited in their rights. In world practice, this term was introduced for the first time and was not synonymous with the concept of "apartheid". Non-citizens have a purple passport (and a red one for citizens), and they are limited in rights: they cannot participate in elections, work in government bodies, and buy and privatize real estate.
Reasons for committing a crime
The incitement of ethnic hatred (article 282 of the Criminal Code) may occur due to nationality, race, gender, language, gender, class, religion, attitude to religion or belonging to a particular social group.
The reasons can be domestic and global. In the first case, this is negative communication with a representative of a particular nation or race, which a person later projects onto the whole nation. In the second case, the cause is the interethnic conflict that was in the past or takes place in the present, and therefore representatives of two or more nations are in conflict and humiliate each other as soon as possible. Most often, the cause of interethnic conflicts is the struggle for natural resources, a low level of quality of life, forced migration. No less often, religious views become the cause, when representatives of one denomination try to exterminate another.
Forms of a crime
The main criterion by which a statement is regarded as inciting ethnic hatred (Article 282) is publicity and the use of the media. This means that a person can be held accountable if he speaks negatively of other nations and calls for genocide, mass repression, deportation or other violent measures against representatives of these peoples during speeches at rallies or meetings, by distributing various leaflets, brochures , posters, posting such information in the media, the Internet.
It is worth noting that criticism of political or religious associations or national, religious, political beliefs is not arousal of hostility or hatred and therefore cannot be considered as a fact of manifestation of ethnic hatred.
Responsibility for inciting hatred and enmity
The Constitution of the Russian Federation (paragraph 2 of Article 29) calls on all citizens to be more tolerant of the language, social status, religion, race and nationality of both fellow citizens and guests of the country and in no case to agitate or promote superiority in accordance with these concepts. The reason is simple - hostility between people who live in the same country, no matter whether they are its citizens or not, undermines the foundations of the state, its security and impedes successful development. Therefore, in the Russian Federation, according to the Criminal Code, inciting ethnic hatred is a crime for which the perpetrator must answer. Depending on the severity of the crime, he will:
- forced to pay a fine, the amount of which ranges from 100 to 300 thousand rubles or in the presence of income in the amount of wages from 1 to 2 years;
- removed from his post or not be able to engage in certain activities up to 3 years;
- perform compulsory or remedial work up to 180 hours or up to 1 year, respectively;
- deprived of liberty up to 2 years.
If the conflict was accompanied by violence or if one side threatened to use force on the other, the perpetrator will be required to:
- to pay a fine from 100 to 300 thousand rubles or in the amount of a salary from 1 to 3 years;
- resign from his post or not engage in certain activities from 1 to 5 years;
- perform compulsory or remedial work from 120 to 240 hours or from 1 year to 2 years, respectively.
Also, the perpetrator can be sentenced to imprisonment up to 5 years.
These punitive measures await everyone who is 16 years old and he has publicly expressed his negative attitude to another nation or group of nationalities based on personal or political motives. It doesn’t matter if other people have a sense of hostility towards them or not.
Responsibility for a crime in other countries
In Germany, France, the Netherlands, India, Israel, Ireland, and a number of other countries, the punishment for inciting ethnic hatred is no less stringent - up to 5 years in prison, and it does not matter if the perpetrator had intention or if his words had any negative consequences. In Ireland, enough threatening or offensive words are enough to be imprisoned. In Israel, you can go to jail not only for pronounced racist expression, but also for keeping various publications in which there is a hint of ethnic hatred. It is worth noting that in some countries (France) the fact of genocide of Jews by the Nazis is recognized at the legislative level, and one who does not recognize it commits a crime.
Prevention of hatred and enmity
It is hardly possible to completely eradicate the problem - there will always be a person who will put himself above others and unflattering to respond to them. But you can prevent attempts to ethnic hatred. It all starts with the family, and a child from an early age reflects the attitude of his parents and other family members to other people, their nation, culture and everyday life. If the elders speak negatively about representatives of other nations and taunt them, then the child will copy their behavior. Therefore, it is important for every adult, in spite of the negative experience in communicating with representatives of other nations in the past, to realize that in each of them there are good and bad people. After the family, educational institutions — kindergartens, schools, and then the university — take on this role. Therefore, the task of all those associated with these areas should be to increase education among children, schoolchildren and students and to prevent attempts to search for antiheroes among other nationalities. But the most important role is given to the authorities and law enforcement agencies - their representatives should monitor the interethnic relations and respond promptly, harshly and fairly to any manifestation of interethnic hatred.