Russian Federation - March 2025

An examination of public and private tenders for services and contractors by the Sistema investigative journalism project found that conditions specifying the ethnicity of the contractor to be increasingly common. Entities including the Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology, regional administrations, and private shopping centers across the country included specifications requiring all contractors to be of “Slavic appearance” or limiting employment only to “Slavic nationalities.” Contracts for security personnel in the private and public sector also included explicit instructions to more closely inspect individuals who appeared to be of “Caucasian or Asian nationality.” Russian rights expert Stefania Kulaeva agreed that despite being contrary to Russian discrimination legislation, such provisions are increasingly the norm in Russia.   

Sources: Current Time, Kommersant