MOSCOW, January 15 (RIA Novosti) - The speaker of the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, said Sunday he was alarmed over recent acts of extremism and intolerance in Russia.
Boris Gryzlov's comments came in the wake of an attack on a synagogue in central Moscow Wednesday, when a man stabbed eight people who were attending evening prayer.
The speaker said the issues of tolerance and mutual respect in society continue to be of key importance not only for Russia, but for the whole world.
Russia has a multi-national and multi-confessional society, Gryzlov said.
"With this in mind, the emergence of extremism and intolerance in our country is a cause of particular alarm." Firm measures must be taken to prevent extremist acts, and perpetrators should be brought to justice, he said.
"Since current preventative measures are insufficient, they need to be improved - this issue will be discussed, among other places, in the State Duma."
Russian Chief Rabbi Berl Lazar had said Friday that extremism was no lesser an evil than terrorism. "We must fight extremism like we are fighting terrorism. We understand that extremism and terrorism are one and the same thing," Lazar said, following a meeting with the country's Interior Ministry.
