When I did my fieldwork in Russia, I noticed a stark contrast in how my respondents would treat me (I am very Central Asian looking), as opposed to my colleagues from Western Europe. (2/13)

When I was on a bus with my daughter in Moscow, not saying a word and minding my own business, a woman looked at me and said: “Eww, the hairy monkeys are everywhere.” (3/13)

My brother was constantly asked to show the contents of his pockets in shops in Moscow. (4/13)

It took my brother over a month to find (very bad) accommodation in Moscow despite the fact he had a stable job. The advertisements in newspapers openly say: “Renting only to Slavic people.” (5/13)

In Russia, I was constantly commented on how good my Russian is. I am a native speaker of Russian. (6/13)

A Russian lady who sat next to me on a plane said that my last name sounds funny and I should change it if I get a chance. (7/13)

During fieldwork in Russia, people would be openly hostile to me during interviews or patronising. They would question my authority or knowledge before even hearing me speak (this is intersectional because I am a young woman). (8/13)

A Russian man approached me and asked, why do I study Russia. In his view, since I am from Turkmenistan, researching Russia for someone like me would be “equivalent to studying Zimbabwe.” (9/13)

A woman in Russia said Central Asian people start looking more intelligent after living in Saint Petersburg, as “Saint Petersburg civilises everyone.” (10/13)

And the irony is that this country tries to “fix” and “denazify” another country. Racism exists everywhere, except that in Russia it is not even shameful; in that country, it is morally acceptable to be openly racist. No one will call off this behaviour. (11/13)

@DurdiyevaSelbi Thanks for this thread, Selbi! And keep up the great work on decolonisation!

@SashaLleshaj Thank you very much, Sashenka 😘

@DurdiyevaSelbi No room for “everyday racism” or even for “casual racism.” racism. Keep up the excellent work, Selbi. Thanks for sharing!

@yusupbonari Many thanks! :)

@DurdiyevaSelbi I lived in Moscow in 1988-2001 and I used to be a Russian citizen. I remember that no one knew about Kazakhstan in my class in middle school and they thought that Kazakhs were like Cossacks. My schoolteachers would call me Boyardzhin or other names.

@bakhyt_kurmanov I am sorry about your experience

@DurdiyevaSelbi 2) In my Moscow school I was taught that nomads (mongols and the subsequent Golden Horse) were uncivilised people who destroyed European civilisation in Russia in 1237.

@bakhyt_kurmanov Colonial tales. I am sorry you had to face this.

@DurdiyevaSelbi @threadreaderapp unroll #russianColonialism

@DurdiyevaSelbi 3) I remember one time a crazy Russian old woman shouted angrily at me “* get out of Russia”. (Чурки, вон из России).