A surge in violence targeting foreigners with non-Slavic features has raised concerns over the spread of racist and xenophobic attitudes in the country.
A recent string of attacks on foreign students has cast a shadow over several Russian cities, in particular Russia's second city St. Petersburg, and Voronezh, about 310 miles south of Moscow, which have traditionally been popular destinations for foreign undergraduates.
At the same time, foreign citizens and illegal immigrants committed 4,100 crimes in January 2007, a decline of 0.2%, year-on-year. More than 90% of the crimes, or 3,800, were committed by CIS nationals, the ministry said.
Foreigners arriving in Russia who fail to register and find work often unite into gangs and commit crimes, mainly robberies of their compatriots and Russians.
A total of 234,900 criminal cases were opened in January 2007, a rise of 17%, year-on-year.
