Solntsevo District Court in Moscow has banned the dissemination online of job advertisements containing phrases such as “only for Slavs” as a precondition for applicants, the press service of the capital’s courts of general jurisdiction announced Monday.
The court ruled that the racial qualification listed in job ads which require applicants to have a Slavic appearance or ethnicity, “contradict the fundamentals of law and order [and] violate the interests of society and the state.”
Any such hiring policy adopted by employers posting job ads containing racial requirements on public websites can be considered “illegal and criminally punishable,” according to the court.
Article 136 of the Russian Criminal Code provides for penalizing any discrimination against citizens because of their “gender, race, nationality, language, origin, property and official status, place of residence, attitude to religion, beliefs, membership in public associations or social groups,” by individuals “using their official position.”
On conviction, the maximum penalty for a crime under the article is five years in prison.
In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized the importance of persevering with the multinational Russian state, saying that nationalist ideas are of concern for the country.
Russia is a multinational and a multi-confessional state, and the violation of rights of any citizens will only lead to a collapse of the country, the president warned. He noted that 190 ethnic groups currently live in Russia, with some nationalities comprising millions of people.