MOSCOW. July 6 (Interfax) - The number of foreigners killed in Russia grew 12% to 416 in the first quarter of this year, Russian Prosecutor General's Office Investigation Committee head Alexander Bastrykin said in an article published by the Itogi magazine.
"The rate of racially motivated crimes grew considerably over the past decade [by 68% from 9,000 to 15,000]. The increase continued this year," he said.
The number of crimes against foreign citizens increased 4% to almost 4,000 in the first quarter of the year. The murder rate went up 12% to 416, while the number of deliberate serious physical attacks increased 16% to 788.
More than 2,000 robberies and 754 assaults were perpetrated against foreigners, Bastrykin said.
"Notably, Moscow and St. Petersburg areas reported an increase in crimes committed by and against migrants. The younger generation increasingly falls for nationalist propaganda and Nazi ideology," he said.
The majority of extremist crimes were committed by the young, he said.
"The protection of this country from terrorism directly depends on the resolving the problems in the migration policy," Bastrykin said.