Below The Beltway

The Russian Government has banned the movie Borat from the country on the ground that it promotes xenophobia. As Masha Lipman writes in The Washington Post, this is pretty ironic considering that Russian politicians frequently appeal to xenophobia themselves:

Moscow, Russia – Earlier this month the Russian government agency in charge of movie distribution ruled that Russian people could not see “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”. The agency’s reason: “Borat” offended ethnic feelings.

The agency denied “banning” the movie, claiming instead it made a mere “recommendation” not to distribute it. But in today’s Russia where political loyalty is imperative, a recommendation from “above” means an order. If nothing else, it’s for businesses to be sure they’re “staying on the safe side.”

The safe side of the government, that is. The same government, again, that frequently appeals to xenophobia to garner public support:

In recent weeks the Russian government, from the president down, has issued populist calls playing specifically to xenophobic sentiments. Officials commonly demanded the protection of “the indigenous population of Russia” from “non-locals”. There is little doubt that this language ostensibly endorses hostility toward people with darker skin and non-Slavic features, regardless of whether they are Russian nationals from the Caucasus or migrant workers from the former Soviet republics of Central Asia, China, Afghanistan, or elsewhere. The head of the Russian Migration Service said point blank that “settlements such as China towns” are “unacceptable” in Russia. Such language encourages precisely those ugly, xenophobic sentiments that the ban of “Borat” is intended to contain.

But, don’t you see ? When Putin and his allies use ethnic tensions to increase their power, its okay. It’s when someone uses it to make you laugh that it’s wrong.