Skip to main content

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
  • Site
    • English home page
    • المصادر بالعربية
    • Πηγές στα Ελληνικά
    • Recursos en español
    • منابع موجود به زبان فارسی
    • Ressources en français
    • Gyűjtemény és tudástár magyar nyelven
    • Sumber Bahasa Indonesia
    • Materiali e risorse in italiano
    • 日本語のリソース
    • 한국어 자료
    • Recursos em Português (do Brasil)
    • Материалы на русском языке
    • Türkçe Kaynaklar
    • اُردو ری سورسز
    • 中文参考资料
  • Events
  • Plan Your Visit
  • Support the Museum
  • Connect
  • Donate
  • Learn About The Holocaust
  • Remember Survivors and Victims
  • Confront Genocide and Antisemitism

  • Home
  • Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial
  • Podcast: Voices on Antisemitism
  • Voices on Antisemitism: All Episodes

Alexander Verkhovsky

  • What is Antisemitism?
  • Holocaust Denial and Distortion
  • Teaching about Antisemitism
This page is also available in:
  • عربي
  • Русский
  • Alexander Verkhovsky

    Alexander Verkhovsky
    Director, SOVA Center for Information and Analysis, Moscow, Russia

January 29, 2009

Concerned about a rise in racism and violence, Alexander Verkhovsky examines how interethnic conflict is fostered and spread throughout his native Russia.

To listen to this audio please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video.
  • Download
  • Comment
  • CommentClose

    Alexander Verkhovsky

    Alexander Verkhovsky

    Concerned about a rise in racism and violence, Alexander Verkhovsky examines how interethnic conflict is fostered and spread throughout his native Russia.

    Disclaimer:
    The US Holocaust Memorial Museum may use your comments for educational, research, and Museum purposes, including publication. A selection of comments may be posted on our website, at our discretion.

Tags

  • activists
  • impact of youth

Transcript

ALEXANDER VERKHOVSKY:
Most young Nazi skinheads, like 14 years old or 15 years old, they do not think in complicated ideological constructions. They call themselves "Nazi" because it is tough. And at the same time, they are just street hooligans who like to beat somebody.

ALEISA FISHMAN:
Concerned about a rise in racism and violence, Alexander Verkhovsky looks at how interethnic conflict is fostered and spread throughout his native Russia. As director of the Moscow-based SOVA Center for Information and Analysis, Verkhovsky researches and reports on nationalism, xenophobia, and human rights violations.

Welcome to Voices on Antisemitism, a podcast series from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum made possible by generous support from the Oliver and Elizabeth Stanton Foundation. I'm your host, Aleisa Fishman. Every other week, we invite a guest to reflect about the many ways that antisemitism and hatred influence our world today. Recorded during his recent visit to Washington D.C., here's Alexander Verkhovsky.

ALEXANDER VERKHOVSKY:
Our society, in general—not teenagers, but the whole society—is very ethnocentric in perception of social problems. So if something is bad, it is because of some interethnic problem.

These young people, they see "occupation," how it is called. Our country is "occupied" by all these "aliens." They feel like heroes of underground. And they really are a threat—because they commit many violent attacks; they promote violence; they hold many Web sites, which are promoting hatred and discrimination and violence also. As the final purpose, of course, they dream to organize huge political movement, which would involve the majority of population. And they have some grounds for such a hope.

It doesn't mean that majority of people hate everybody. They just…majority of people support the idea that ethnic Russians have to have some privileges, and support the idea to limit rights for certain ethnic groups. This majority means about 55 percent. So that's not very radical, but a stable xenophobic majority.

There are a lot of talk about these interethnic problems. Very many social problems are interpreted in ethnic language. And the society has to do something against that, and the government has to do something. But practically nothing is done, so things are going on as they are.

ALEISA FISHMAN:
Voices on Antisemitism is a podcast series of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Join us every other week to hear a new perspective on the continuing threat of antisemitism in our world today. We would appreciate your feedback on this series. Please visit our website, www.ushmm.org.

This page is also available in:

  • عربي
  • Русский

About the Museum

  • Plan Your Visit
  • Current Exhibitions
  • Calendar of Events
  • Support the Museum
  • Donate

Resources

  • Learn
  • Teach
  • Collections
  • Academic Research
  • Remember Survivors and Victims
  • Genocide Prevention
  • Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial
  • Outreach

Museum Websites

  • Holocaust Encyclopedia
  • Collections Search
  • Holocaust Survivors and Victims Resource Center
  • History Unfolded
  • Experiencing History
  • Early Warning Project
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW
Washington, DC 20024-2126
Main telephone: 202.488.0400
TTY: 202.488.0406

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • About the Museum
  • Contact the Museum
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility
  • Legal