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National monitoring system prevents major ethnic conflict in Russia's Kalmykia

The system was developed by the Federal Agency for Nationalities and is now being introduced in all constituent entities of the Russian Federation

© Denis Vyshinskiy/ITAR-TASS

CHELYABINSK, May 18. /TASS/. The information monitoring conflict early warning system has allowed Russia’s law enforcement authorities to prevent a major ethnic conflict in the southern republic of Kalmykia, head of the Federal Agency for Nationalities Igor Barinov said on Wednesday at a meeting on the implementation of the state national policy strategy that was held in Chelyabinsk.

"The conflict early warning system helped in Kalmykia to stop ethnic clashes between the youth of Kalmykia and Dagestan. A resident of Dagestan desecrated a Buddha statue in Kalmykia, and when all believed that the conflict was over, the system revealed in social media private groups, which were preparing large-scale inter-ethnic clashes," Barinov said.

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The system has collected and analyzed information from 11 sources in social media. Information on the impending conflict came to the Federal Agency for Nationalities. "We passed this information to law enforcement and regulatory authorities, as a result of which all the identified resources were blocked, and law enforcement localized the organizers and prevented clashes", he added.

A Dagestani athlete desecrated a statue of Buddha in Elista on the night to April 2. The Elista City Court of Kalmykia arrested him for two months. Criminal proceedings were instituted against the perpetrator for hurting the people’s religious feelings and beliefs. He is facing punishment of up to three years in prison. Head of Kalmykia Alexei Orlov and the Dagestani government head, Abdusamad Gamidov, made a joint statement over the incident in which appeal condemned the action of the athlete.

The system was developed by the Federal Agency for Nationalities and is now being introduced in all constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The system is now fully operational in 67 regions. "We almost daily reveal that or other conflicts. I believe that the system has proven its effectiveness", Barinov said.

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