Is Putin Racist and does it affect Russia's Foreign Policy?

Is Russian President Vladimir Putin racist with regard to Africans and African-Americans, and possibly elitist with regard to Russian people?  Mr. Putin has appeared unhappy in his in-person meetings with African-American American President Barack Obama. Is it possible that Putin's potential elitism and racism have affected his foreign policy considerably?

Russia is known for extremist racism, and even, ironically, Neo-Nazi racist attacks, against Africans in Moscow, according to this BBC News article, "Africans 'under siege' in Moscow".This National Review article "Racism Runs Deep in Russia" finds that "...Russia is a deeply racist country that holds minorities in open contempt — not quite the equivalent of Jim Crow, but still distressing."

According to Wikipedia, 80 percent of Russia's population of about 143 million people is ethnically Russian, other ethnic minorities are Caucasians, Turckic, and Eurasians, and African or dark-pigmented people do not make up a significant minority, in contrast to the USA. Though Russians apparently refer to even Caucasians in derogatory language.

The National Review article notes, "Common graffiti include swastikas and slogans like Rossiya dlya russkikh. This means “Russia for Russians...”

The Journal of the Turkish Weekly writes in the article "Soaring racism in Russia and possible repercussions": "According to a 2009 public opinion poll conducted by the Russian Public Affairs Research Center, 45 percent of interviewees held hostile sentiments toward non-Slavic ethnic groups..."

"...racist assaults have shown an increase in number and scope since the mid-2000s, primarily in cosmopolitan areas like St. Petersburg and Moscow. According to the SOVA research center... SOVA reported 400 racist attacks in 2010, and 19 deaths and 187 injuries in 2012."


Now that there is a conflict between Russia and the USA and Europe over Ukraine, it seems that poor relations between Russia and the USA could be in part related to Russian racism and race-elitist attitudes. However, from a race perspective, President Obama's considerable support of "white" Ukraine, compared to the USA's tepid support of countries in dark-pigmented Africa suggests that President Obama is following American doctrine.  Though the "White" Ukraine leadership appears to prefer President Obama and his administration without racial prejudice, to Mr. Putin and Russia.

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