The attack against worshippers in a Hasid Synagogue at 6 Bolshaya Bronnaya Ulitsa in central Moscow on Wednesday, 11 January, elicited a lot of comments and reactions. Far from being the first attack against a synagogue in Russia, for the first time the rampage left so many victims - eight people were stabbed.

Opinions differ as to whether the attacker, Alexander Koptsev, is a convinced member of a nationalist gang or a mentally unstable individual (his parents, naturally, insist on the latter). So far, it appears that he had associated with skinheads before the attack and had obviously read books of their "propaganda', but acted single-handedly.

Members of different religions, numerous NGOs and government officials immediately condemned the attack. Human rights defenders stressed that Koptsev's attack was not a random accident, but a manifestation of hatred and violence on the rise in Russia, while attempts by authorities to control them are clearly inadequate. (Some people have made even more radical statements, holding the Kremlin directly responsible for the rampage.)

Radical nationalists also reacted to the incident. For example, Orthodox Russia wrote that the attack may have been a provocation orchestrated by Jews and authorities to justify reprisals against Russian nationalists. Similarly, the neo-Nazi Freedom Party described Koptsev as a victim of provocation and called upon the Russian government to pursue nationalist policies as a way to avoid a universal war against Jews.

In fact, the impunity of ethno-nationalist propaganda and its wide dissemination in Russia were the main reasons behind Koptsev's attack.