Study: Africans major target of racism in Moscow

(Press TV) -- A new study suggests nearly 60% of black and African people living in the Russian capital have been victims of racially motivated attacks.

Africans working or studying in Moscow rarely feel safe with many of them avoiding public transportation for fear of racial assaults, according to a BBC report citing a study by the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy (MPC).

A quarter of the survey's 200 respondents said they had been physically attacked more than once, while some 80% said they experienced verbal abuse.

Although the number of assaults has decreased from the MPC's last survey in 2002, the nature of the pre-meditated attacks on Africans remained extremely violent, the report found.

Many of the African respondents said they tried not to use the Moscow metro and to stay away from crowded public places, especially during Russian national holidays.

A Nigerian migrant interviewed by the BBC said he had been shot after receiving multiple knife stabs in the back.

According to official figures, some 10,000 Africans are now living in Moscow. The figure does not take into account the large number of illegal economic migrants believed to be residing there as well.

The Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy is an English-speaking interdenominational Christian congregation that has ministered to Moscow's foreign community since 1962.

The looming threat of racist attacks has prompted the congregation to publish guidelines for foreign students and refugees on its website, under an undated section called safety tips.

It encourages newcomers to avoid public places at night, to travel in groups, “pretend not to understand Russian,” when cornered by racist individuals, and “if necessary, run.”