Moscow man killed in 'racist' attack

A resident of Moscow was beaten and stabbed to death in the south-west of the capital. Police have identified a young man who may be linked to the attack. A bloodied knife was discovered among his clothing. 30 other teenagers have been detained in connect

A baseball bat and a knife were used to brutally kill 46-year-old Sergey Nikolaev, originally from Siberia, who died at the site of the attack.

Police suspect up to nine teenagers attacked Sergey Nikolaev, who had a Eurasian complexion. Those responsible were reportedly wearing black coats which, combined with the weapons, match characteristics of racist gangs across Russia.

“He died from the stab wounds at the site of the attack. The young people aged 14-16 had disappeared by the time the police got there. A criminal case has been launched into this event,” Marina Molokova, Moscow Police spokesperson commented.

Konstantin Chernobaev, an eye-witness, says, “I think they were skinheads.  After the attack, they divided into two groups.  The first ran away, the other went to a block where there are lots of skinheads.  In this block there are lots of symbols used by nationalists.”

Another victim of the attack – Nikolaev's Tajik friend Galijan Gulyashov – was also badly beaten, but survived. Now in hospital, he's said to be in a serious yet stable condition.

A criminal case has been launched into this event, and police are also completing a finger-tip search of the area. 

Previous attacks

If the attack does prove to be racially motivated, it will add to Moscow's rising number of hate crimes.

In June this year, clashes erupted between members of nationalist movements and people of ethnic Asian and Caucasian origin.

Last year, a 20-year-old Muscovite was found guilty of promoting national hatred after bursting into a Moscow synagogue and attacking ten worshippers.

He was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the crime.