Those convicted of ethnic hate crimes must be restricted from state service positions, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday.
Speaking at the State Council meeting in Ufa, the capital of the Russian republic of Bashkortostan, Medvedev said he would also submit a bill to the State Duma that restricts people charged with incitement of ethnic hatred from holding teaching positions in educational centers.
"They must not teach children or the youth at all," the president said.
Interethnic problems came to the foreground in mid-December when a Moscow football fan was shot dead in a brawl with migrants from Russia's mainly Muslim North Caucasus region.
The incident sparked race-hate riots and ethnic clashes across Russia, including a brawl between over 5,000 nationalists and police outside the Kremlin walls on December 11.
Medvedev ordered the government to investigate the cases of ethnically-motivated restrictions in government administration circles.
"It is no secret that there are restrictions to certain nationalities during the formation of administrative organs in some republics and individual regions," Medvedev said, adding that such "lopsidedness should be eradicated."
UFA, February 11 (RIA Novosti)
