Russia's far-northern regions, many of which are the home bases of multi-billion dollar oil and gas companies, tend to be tightly controlled by the local authorities. The Nenets Autonomous Okrug is apparently no exception. An expert commission on questions of extremism in the region released a study last week on attempts last October by unnamed groups to stir up an anti-migrant riot, according to an April 25, 2008 report by the Rosbalt news agency. These groups may have been the same organizations involved in the infamous Kondopoga riots of 2006. The authorities acted quickly to shut down an anti-migrant march when it started getting out of hand, starting two criminal cases ("incitement of ethnic hatred" and "organization of mass disturbances") against some of the marchers, who gathered in the regional capital on October 6-7. One of the suspects remains behind bars awaiting trial. A local migration official was quoted in the article warning that uncontrolled migration to the region is creating ethnic tensions that could explode into violence.

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