The wars in Chechnya , and the associated Caucasian terrorism in Russia , were a major factor in the growth of intolerance , xenophobia , and racist violence in Russia , directed in a great part against the people from Caucasus . The Russian authorities were unlikely to label random attacks on people of non-Russian ethnicity as racist , preferring calling it " hooliganism " . The number of murders officially classified as racist more than doubled in Russia between 2003 and 2004 . The violence included acts of terrorism such as the 2006 Moscow market bombing which killed 13 people . In 2007 , 18-year-old Artur Ryno claimed responsibility for 37 racially motivated murders in the course of one year , saying that " since school he hated people from the Caucasus . " On 5 June 2007 , an anti-Chechen riot involving hundreds of people took place in the town of Stavropol in southern Russia . Rioters demanded the eviction of ethnic Chechens following the murder of two young Russians who locals believed were killed by Chechens . The event revived memories of a recent clash between Chechens and local Russians in Kondopoga over an unpaid bill , when two Russians were killed . The Caucasians also face ethnic-related violence in the ranks of Russian Army
2006 Moscow market bombing
2006 Moscow market bombing
Second Chechen War