MOSCOW: Fed by the war in Chechnya, nationalist sentiment has been on the rise in Russia, manifested in neo-Nazi marches, racially-motivated crime and anti-Caucasus sentiment.

A demonstration last week was a case in point - sanctioned by Moscow authorities, it was organized by ultranationalists ostensibly held to honour the victims of a February 6 blast in the Moscow metro, which has been blamed on Chechen rebels.

But the protest in Gorky Park turned into a railing against foreign "invasion of Russia," with teenagers chanting "Moscow is a Russian city. Russia for Russians. Moscow for Muscovites," and holding up a banner that read: "Say no to registration (for foreigners), says yes to deportation."

The subway blast, the last in a series of increasing suicide attacks in Russia blamed on Chechen rebels, prompted anti-Caucasian leaflets calling for protection of the "white race." The Chechen rebels have not claimed responsibility for the blast.

Activists such as Lev Ponomaryov of the "For Human Rights" group say that Moscow's four-year-plus war in Chechnya is at the root of the problem, sparking "hatred against an ethnic group (which) automatically becomes racism."

"Public opinion had taken up President Vladimir Putin's harsh formulas" - the most famous of which came at the start of the war in 1999, when he said "we'll wipe them (terrorists) out in the shithouse" - and thus confusing Chechens and bandits, sociologist Yury Levada warned.

"The greatest concern is that there are no people who feel shame for this," Levada said. "Xenophobia, which was part of new Russia's history, was so far latent. Now it is legitimized," Ponomaryov said.

An example of this was the unexpected success of the nationalist Motherland (Rodina) bloc in the December elections. Another are television series showing brave Russian troopers fighting Chechen "bandits" - the latest vogue on Russia's national channels.

Other Russian ethnic groups have also been identified with Chechens, forging what police call a "Caucasian individual," Levada said. -AFP