Kremlin moves cautiously after Moscow attack, fearing ethnic conflict

Anti-migrant rhetoric following attacks on concert hall outside Moscow has raised fears the tragedy could spark ethnic conflict in Russia.

At a memorial service this week outside the concert hall where Islamist extremists are suspected of carrying out a deadly terrorist attack, one of the Russia's most popular pro-Kremlin rappers have warned "right-wing rappers and far-right groups" that they must not "incite ethnic hatred."

In a televised meeting on the attack, Russia's top prosecutor, Igor Krasnov, promised that his department was paying "special attention" to preventing "inter-ethnic and inter-religious conflicts."

And when President Vladimir V. Putin made his first comments on the tragedy last weekend, he said he would not allow anyone to "sow the poisonous seeds hatred, panic and discord in our multi-ethnic society."

Following the assault near Moscow which killed 139 people last Friday, There is a recurring theme in the Kremlin's response: fear that the tragedy could spark ethnic conflict in Russia. While Mr Putin and his security chiefs accuse Ukraine – without evidence – of helping to organize the murder, the fact that the four suspects detained in the attack are from Tajikistan, a majority Central Asian country Muslim, fuels anti-migrant rhetoric online.

For Mr. Putin, the problem is amplified by the competing priorities of his war in Ukraine. Members of Muslim minority groups make up a significant portion of Russian soldiers who fight and die. Central Asian migrants provide much of the labor force that keeps Russia's economy and its military supply chain functioning.

But many of the strongest supporters of Mr. Putin's invasion are Russian nationalists whose popular, pro-war blogs on the messaging app Telegram overflowed with xenophobia in the days after the attack.

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Russian nationalists whose popular, pro-war blogs on the messaging app Telegram have overflowed with xenophobia. p>

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