ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, July 12 (UPI) -- St. Petersburg, where leaders of the G8 industrialized nations will meet this weekend, is one of the most racist cities in Russia, CBS News reported.
At least six people were killed in St. Petersburg in allegedly racially motivated attacks between September and April. The killings have been attributed to gangs of skinheads.
The situation has become so serious that the United Nations' top expert on racism went to Russia to investigate, the network reported.
"I concluded there is a very strong racist and xenophobic dynamic which is now working throughout the Russian society," said Doudou Diene of Senegal, the U.N. special investigator on racism.
Extremist groups operate in Russia almost unchecked, CBS said. They advocate throwing out dark-skinned people from central Asia and the Caucasus region between Europe and Asia, as well as visiting Africans.
Critics say Russia is not doing enough to stop the violent racism. Moscow says it is launching new raids and passing new laws to clamp down on extremism.
