Since Russia invaded Ukrainian territory a month ago, many Russians and descendants of Slavic families living in Brazil have been the target of bigoted attacks.
In São Paulo, even religious celebrations have been empty in orthodox churches. The president of the Association of Young Russian Compatriots, Danilo Kozemekin, said that religious practices are in a climate of tension.
“People in our community are afraid to go to church with the possibility of an attack, so churches are holding their services behind closed doors,” explained Danilo.
This is not the first time that a foreign group has suffered xenophobia in the country. Two years ago, when the Covid-19 pandemic was decreed, Chinese citizens and even other Asian countries reported similar situations here in Brazil and in the rest of the world.
After the 9/11 attack, the war on terror and the hunt for extremist groups fueled hate speech in the West against Muslim peoples.
Snizhana Maznova owns a Russian restaurant that is about to reopen at a new address in São Paulo, but since the first bombings, she has received messages from concerned friends and relatives.
“They asked why I don’t change the name of the restaurant, but I’m not going to change it just because that happened, I don’t pay tax to Russia, I pay tax to the Brazilian government, to develop Brazil, we don’t finance war”.
For Vera, who is the granddaughter of Russians and a professor of International Law, prejudice against her people has been building for decades.
“I see my grandparents counting and this actually existed, especially during the period of the Soviet Union. My grandfather hid Russian records because there was a fear of being confused with a communist in the military dictatorship”, said Vera.
Source: CNN Brasil
