Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the level of persecution of Jewish people in Russia.

The Russian constitution provides for freedom of religion and takes an official stand against antisemitism. In 2013, the Federation of Jewish Communities reported no official acts of antisemitism at the federal level. However, there have been reports of isolated cases of antisemitism by government officials, vandalism of Jewish facilities and the distribution of antsemitic literature. Annual nationalist “Russian Marches” have also included some anti-Semitic behaviour, such as the use of “banned symbols” by neo-Nazi groups.

We have raised concerns about freedom of religion and belief in Russia through the EU. The UK Government is committed to combating antisemitism wherever it is found and supports the efforts of EU partners to tackle racism in all its forms.