{"id":35169,"date":"2024-12-11T16:59:45","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T13:59:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/?p=35169"},"modified":"2024-12-30T18:04:34","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T15:04:34","slug":"meduza-blame-it-on-the-roma-a-human-rights-activist-explains-how-discrimination-and-bigotry-shape-life-in-one-of-russias-most-vulnerable-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/news\/publications-about-us\/media-about-us\/meduza-blame-it-on-the-roma-a-human-rights-activist-explains-how-discrimination-and-bigotry-shape-life-in-one-of-russias-most-vulnerable-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"Meduza: Blame it on the Roma. A human rights activist explains how discrimination and bigotry shape life in one of Russia\u2019s most vulnerable communities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cherta Media published an interview with Stefania Kulaeva on the situation of Roma in Russia<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

In October 2024, a taxi driver named Elena Manzhosova was found murdered outside Chelyabinsk in the city of Korkino. When locals learned of the crime, they marched to the suspected killer\u2019s home, began breaking windows, and set fire to several nearby houses. The riot quickly escalated into an indiscriminate attack on the murder suspect\u2019s entire community: the Roma population living on Korkino\u2019s outskirts. In the aftermath of Manzhosova\u2019s tragic killing, city residents have demanded the illegal deportation of Roma community members, and state officials have partly obliged these bigotries by intensifying police raids on Roma settlements in the Chelyabinsk region and beyond.<\/p>\n

To learn about the origins of negative stereotypes against Russia\u2019s Romanis, why members of this community often live in isolation, and why Russians often view them as illegal immigrants, Cherta Media<\/a> recently spoke to Stefania Kulayeva, an expert at Memorial\u2019s Anti-Discrimination Center, who has spent more than 30 years advocating for the rights of the Roma population in Russia. Meduza<\/a><\/em> summarizes Kulayeva\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cAt first, we gathered information about violations of Roma rights directly from the affected individuals,\u201d Kulayeva told Cherta Media, explaining how she once worked on a research project that brought her to more than 100 clustered Roma settlements. \u201cI\u2019d just walk up to people and say, \u2018Hello, tell me what\u2019s wrong here,\u2019\u201d she recalled. Through these interactions, Kulayeva learned firsthand accounts of failing education programs, police abuse, murder, and torture.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Later, she got involved in legal assistance to Roma communities, litigating to prevent the demolition of homes, helping people register their properties, and sometimes even arranging defense attorneys for Roma members falsely accused of crimes.<\/p>\n

How Russia\u2019s education system fails the Roma community<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Kulayeva has worked extensively with grade schools across Russia to find better accommodations for Roma students. \u201cChildren from [Roma] settlements often attend segregated classes with shockingly poor teaching quality and degrading conditions: tiny rooms, staggered schedules, and no sanitation or sports facilities,\u201d Kulayeva told Cherta Media. \u201cAnd everything missing is readily available in classrooms next door where the \u2018white kids\u2019 study. It\u2019s like an apartheid system.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Kulayeva, schools exploit a loophole in Russia\u2019s regulations to separate Roma students like this, classifying their lessons as \u201cspecial education.\u201d In theory, isolating Roma children is meant to give them the extra attention they need to \u201ccatch up\u201d with their peers in Russian language proficiency. In practice, however, these students are denied a proper education in anything, ensuring their inability to matriculate at higher grade levels and raising the likelihood that they\u2019ll become dropouts at ages as young as 10.<\/p>\n

Kulayeva recalled a visit to one \u201cjaw-dropping\u201d school in the Tambov region that claimed to provide nine years of education for Roma children:<\/p>\n

\n

It was a complete sham. The students were taught in a shack with two rooms and a wood-burning stove. The furnace operator taught algebra, geometry, physics, chemistry, geography, and English, while the janitor handled the other subjects.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

When Russia\u2019s education system fails Roma children, it cultivates future parents who will question the utility of school for their kids, Kulayeva told Cherta Media: \u201cMaking education a priority should be the responsibility of the state. The state must understand that it is imperative for all children to attend school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked about developing Roma students\u2019 Russian language fluency, Kulayeva reasoned that Roma children in elementary school should be taught in their native language, though she also urged educators to work toward integrating these students. \u201cWe explained [\u2026] why segregation is harmful and why it\u2019s important to try, in any way possible, to include the children in activities,\u201d Kulayeva said, describing her work with teachers at \u201croundtable\u201d events organized to coordinate education efforts related to Roma students.<\/p>\n

Racism and job discrimination<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Kulayeva also criticized outsiders for failing to recognize the diversity of Russia\u2019s Roma communities. \u201cJournalists often illustrate stories about one Roma group with photos of another,\u201d she complained, accusing reporters of \u201ctextbook racism\u201d when they conflate groups who often adhere to very different lifestyles (for example, regarding community rules on drug use).<\/p>\n

The discrimination Russia\u2019s Roma members face today resembles past pogroms against Jews, said Kulayeva. This is especially true, she explained, when it comes to stereotypes about drug crimes:<\/p>\n

\n

Where there is demand, there will be suppliers, and such niches are often filled by those who, like Jews under the Tsar, were barred from working in other sectors. It\u2019s the same here: the majority of Roma have nothing to do with drugs, though some, like in any group of people, use them and therefore possess them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Kulayeva spoke extensively to Cherta Media about the limited job opportunities for Russia\u2019s Roma community members due to a mix of ethnic bigotry, poor education, and language barriers. \u201cDiscrimination and the inability to find decent work have, in various eras, pushed different groups of people into illegal activities,\u201d she explained, highlighting that the elusiveness of school diplomas for Roma students is especially disqualifying for legal employment. Even uneducated foreigners can leverage their past work experience to find jobs more easily than many Russian citizens in the Roma community, said Kulayeva.<\/p>\n

A housing crisis<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In 1956, the USSR effectively criminalized the Roma community\u2019s nomadic way of life, leading to a police crackdown that rounded up many Roma members and dumped them on allocated land.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThis abruptly shattered a centuries-old way of life,\u201d Kulayeva told Cherta Media. However, these allotments didn\u2019t grow with the Roma population, leading to increasingly crowded accommodations and greater reliance on shoddy home extensions. \u201cThe authorities provided no assistance in registering these homes, and the problems of overcrowding and safety in such settlements were simply ignored,\u201d Kulayeva said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In post-Soviet Russia, owning a home outside the country\u2019s metropolises became prestigious, and Russians went looking for real estate to build new cottages. \u201cThis led to demolitions in the Roma settlements and the expulsion of their residents,\u201d said Kulayeva.<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s Roma and the invasion of Ukraine<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Following Elena Manzhosova\u2019s murder, one of the criticisms Korkino residents made against the city\u2019s Roma community has been to highlight the absence of Roma soldiers fighting in Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. Kulayeva said this reproof isn\u2019t unique to the Chelyabinsk area:<\/p>\n

\n

There\u2019s a video<\/a> from the Volgograd region where the administration summoned Roma representatives and began yelling at them: \u201cWhy is everyone fighting, and you\u2019re not?\u201d And these pitiful, crushed fathers and grandfathers of families answered, \u201cWell, maybe you could assign us to weave some nets instead.\u201d I deeply respect that none of them said, \u201cSure, we\u2019ll go fight.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Kulayeva told Cherta Media that she suspects military recruiters have turned their attention to Russia\u2019s Roma because they assume pillaging these communities of able-bodied men \u201cwon\u2019t provoke any protests.\u201d However, she pointed out that the education system\u2019s abandonment of Roma students has put them largely out of the military\u2019s reach since men are typically registered for the armed services in high school or later. \u201cIt turns out that the Roma are an excluded group in every sense,\u201d Kulayeva quipped.<\/p>\n

Full interview with Stefania Kulaeva on Meduza’s website<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cherta Media published an interview with Stefania Kulaeva on the situation of Roma in Russia: In October 2024, a taxi driver named Elena Manzhosova was found murdered outside Chelyabinsk in the city of Korkino. When locals learned of the crime,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":35076,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[636],"tags":[160],"strategy_cases":[],"campaign":[],"archive":[],"filter-content":[],"regions":[515],"class_list":["post-35169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media-about-us","tag-roma-rights-en","regions-russia"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/screenshot-2024-12-12-at-15-01-14-kak-zhivut-czygane-v-rossii.png",709,472,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/screenshot-2024-12-12-at-15-01-14-kak-zhivut-czygane-v-rossii-125x125.png",125,125,true],"medium":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/screenshot-2024-12-12-at-15-01-14-kak-zhivut-czygane-v-rossii-300x200.png",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/screenshot-2024-12-12-at-15-01-14-kak-zhivut-czygane-v-rossii.png",640,426,false],"large":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/screenshot-2024-12-12-at-15-01-14-kak-zhivut-czygane-v-rossii-650x433.png",640,426,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/screenshot-2024-12-12-at-15-01-14-kak-zhivut-czygane-v-rossii.png",709,472,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/screenshot-2024-12-12-at-15-01-14-kak-zhivut-czygane-v-rossii.png",709,472,false],"pub-thumb":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/screenshot-2024-12-12-at-15-01-14-kak-zhivut-czygane-v-rossii-220x146.png",220,146,true],"post-thumb":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/screenshot-2024-12-12-at-15-01-14-kak-zhivut-czygane-v-rossii-170x170.png",170,170,true],"wcicon":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/screenshot-2024-12-12-at-15-01-14-kak-zhivut-czygane-v-rossii.png",48,32,false],"wcsquare":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/screenshot-2024-12-12-at-15-01-14-kak-zhivut-czygane-v-rossii.png",300,200,false],"wcsmall":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/screenshot-2024-12-12-at-15-01-14-kak-zhivut-czygane-v-rossii.png",250,166,false],"wcstandard":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/screenshot-2024-12-12-at-15-01-14-kak-zhivut-czygane-v-rossii.png",550,366,false],"wcbig":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/screenshot-2024-12-12-at-15-01-14-kak-zhivut-czygane-v-rossii.png",709,472,false],"wcfixedheightsmall":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/screenshot-2024-12-12-at-15-01-14-kak-zhivut-czygane-v-rossii.png",270,180,false],"wcfixedheightmedium":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/screenshot-2024-12-12-at-15-01-14-kak-zhivut-czygane-v-rossii.png",451,300,false],"wcfixedheight":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/screenshot-2024-12-12-at-15-01-14-kak-zhivut-czygane-v-rossii.png",709,472,false],"wccarouselsmall":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/screenshot-2024-12-12-at-15-01-14-kak-zhivut-czygane-v-rossii.png",210,140,false],"wccarousel":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/screenshot-2024-12-12-at-15-01-14-kak-zhivut-czygane-v-rossii.png",400,266,false],"wcslider":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/screenshot-2024-12-12-at-15-01-14-kak-zhivut-czygane-v-rossii.png",709,472,false]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":"

Cherta Media published an interview with Stefania Kulaeva on the situation of Roma in Russia: In October 2024, a taxi driver named Elena Manzhosova was found murdered outside Chelyabinsk in the city of Korkino. When locals learned of the crime, they marched to the suspected killer\u2019s home, began breaking windows, and set fire to several nearby houses. The riot quickly escalated into an indiscriminate attack on the murder suspect\u2019s entire community: the Roma population living on Korkino\u2019s outskirts. In the aftermath of Manzhosova\u2019s tragic killing, city residents have demanded the illegal deportation of Roma community members, and state officials have…<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"Media about us<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"admin3","url":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/author\/admin3\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35169"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35173,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35169\/revisions\/35173"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35169"},{"taxonomy":"strategy_cases","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/strategy_cases?post=35169"},{"taxonomy":"campaign","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campaign?post=35169"},{"taxonomy":"archive","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/archive?post=35169"},{"taxonomy":"filter-content","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/filter-content?post=35169"},{"taxonomy":"regions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/regions?post=35169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}