The following is our monthly review of instances of xenophobia and radical nationalism, along with any government countermeasures, for July 2026.
In July 2026, we became aware of 12 people who were victims of hate crimes. Among those targeted during the past month were people from Central Asia, Black people, homeless people, and others considered ideological enemies by the far-right. We also recorded a case of religious xenophobia in July: in Surgut (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug), a local woman attacked a woman wearing a hijab who was out walking with her child.
Over the past two years, we have learned about most of these incidents from reports published in far-right Telegram channels. Interestingly, one of the video compilations was released to mark the anniversary of the execution of Emperor Nicholas II and his family, which is a highly unusual date for neo-Nazis. Since the beginning of the year, we have learned of a total of 110 hate-motivated attacks, including one murder.
We learned of three acts of xenophobic vandalism committed in July. Videos published in far-right Telegram channels showed the arson of a shawarma kiosk and cars bearing license plates from Central Asian countries. In total, we have learned of 16 acts of xenophobic vandalism that occurred since the beginning of the year.
In July, the “Russian Community”, Russian Druzhina, and Northern Man carried out their regular vigilante raids, although their number went down to an average of four anti-migrant raids per week.
In addition, responding to the gasoline shortage in July, volunteers from Russian Druzhina took over security at some gas stations. Similar initiatives have been reported in Krasnodar and Novorossiysk (in collaboration with Cossack groups).
Nationalists, starting with the “Russian Community” and the Tsargrad TV channel, strongly supported two laws tightening immigration policy that were adopted by the State Duma on July 21, 2026. One bill amends the Code of Administrative Offenses, expanding the list of grounds for deporting migrants (from 22 to 45 articles), while the second imposes strict income requirements on migrants, requires the children of migrants to obtain their own residence permit upon reaching the age of 18 or leave the Russian Federation, and bars migrants with any outstanding or unexpunged criminal convictions from obtaining temporary residence permits, permanent residence permits, or Russian citizenship. Roman Antonovsky’s Telegram channel Sons of the Monarchy praised the latest amendment and added that “all that remains is to toughen penalties for the propaganda of radical Islam, including the wearing of the niqab and public prayers.” The channel Mnogonatsional expressed delight that “it will be possible to deport additional tens, if not hundreds, of thousands foreign specialists” and called for AI systems to be configured to search for comments that fall under the amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses, especially on Instagram.
In contrast, the “Russian Community” actively opposed a package of bills that would allow the spouse of a fallen soldier or war veteran to undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF) within five years of his death using the husband's biological material. According to the “Russian Community”, the bill contradicts traditional values and its adoption would have a negative impact on children born through this procedure; for some reason, the “Russian Community” also called this provision “a loophole for the LGBT lobby.” Representatives of several major religious organizations also spoke out against the bill. Meanwhile, the bills were approved by both chambers of parliament and, in early August, signed by the President of Russia.
We are aware of four verdicts handed down in July against 19 people for violent hate crimes. The most notable of these was the sentencing to lengthy prison terms of 12 members of the Paragraph-88 group; they were found guilty of plotting an assassination attempt against pro-government media executive Margarita Simonyan, of carrying out several racist attacks, and of belonging to the neo-Nazi NS/WP network. In addition, in July, an organizer and five members of a far-right group from Novosibirsk were sentenced to prison for attacks on two visitors in the city's Leninsky and Dzerzhinsky districts.
In total, we are aware of 16 sentences against 41 individuals handed down over the past year for xenophobic violence.
We are not aware of any convictions handed down in July for vandalism motivated by ethnic or religious hatred. In total, we know of five such convictions against seven people since the beginning of the year.
We address prosecution under other provisions of anti-extremism legislation in a separate review.
