Russians may face new restrictions when trying to move from the provinces to Moscow, St. Petersburg or other large cities, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signaled Tuesday.
Putin portrayed the move as a way to cut down on ethnic violence in the streets, but Kremlin critics say those tensions are being fanned deliberately as a pretext to introduce repressive legislation ahead of Russia’s 2012 presidential election.
Ethnic tensions have been simmering since the death of a Slavic soccer fan during a fight with southern people from the Caucasus earlier this month. Racist hooligans reacted by conducting violent protests chanting "Russia for Russians!" and other slogans near the Kremlin, and police have arrested thousands of people since then to keep a lid on further unrest.
Putin appealed to soccer fans in Moscow on Tuesday to distance themselves from any ultranationalists and announced the possible measures, ostensibly to combat ethnic violence.
"If we don’t respect each other, what are we to do? We will have to perfect, to put it mildly, registration rules in territories of the country, especially in big centers — in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other main cities," Putin said.
Russians are already required to log in some movements around the country with authorities, and Putin’s call would signal a further clampdown.
The restrictions Putin mentioned are aimed at people from the dilapidated, mainly Muslim southern Caucasus region looking to relocate to big cities, because there is little migration in the opposite direction.
It is the second potentially restrictive measure floated by authorities since the tensions flared up.
President Dmitry Medvedev met with law enforcement officials a day after hundreds of people were arrested last week trying to hold ultranationalist rallies, and announced that participation in unauthorized protests should be punishable by incarceration rather than a fine.
That would make it harder for any type of anti-government protests ahead of the 2012 presidential elections. Putin and Medvedev have both said either of them could run in that vote, but have vowed not to compete against each other.
Putin warned of the dangers of xenophobia, an evil to which a multinational Russia was "losing its immunity."
"A country that shuts itself off is degenerating," he said. "An open country can’t be nationalistic."
Putin called for greater respect in all quarters for Russians from out of town, saying in typically salty language: "I wouldn’t give 10 kopeks for the health of anyone who would come to the republics of the North Caucasus and disrespect the Quran."
"But people from the North Caucasus, when they come to other regions, should respect local culture, traditions and laws," he added.
