Bakhromzhon Khasanov. Photo: Telegram
A newly elected member of the municipal council in the Moscow region city of Pushkino has been forced to resign just days after winning his position in last weekend’s local elections, independent Russian media outlet Agentstvo reported on Friday.
Uzbekistan-born Bakhromzhon Khasanov, who represents ruling party United Russia, grew up in Tajikistan before moving to Russia at the age of 17 and becoming a Russian citizen in 2008.
News that Khasanov had resigned “of his own free will” first appeared on United Russia’s website on Friday, noting that his decision to step down had been supported by the regional Council of Deputies.
The chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Alexander Khinshtein, later wrote on Telegram that he had received multiple angry messages about Khasanov’s election win, with some referencing the politician’s ethnic background.
Khinshtein also included a link to an article published by ultranationalist news outlet Tsargrad that reported Khasanov had knowingly donated a broken car to Russian soldiers in Ukraine and then failed to carry out repairs they had raised money to fund, adding that Khasanov had resigned both “voluntarily” and “forcibly”.
“People are outraged not so much by the fact that a former migrant became a deputy, but by the fact that he is accused of deceiving participants in the special military operation,” Khinshtein wrote, noting that he was glad about Khasanov’s decision “as we do not need such deputies”.
Khasanov’s resignation comes amid a sharp rise in nationalism and anti-migrant rhetoric in Russia. In July Russia’s State Duma adopted a law introducing a new “migrant expulsion regime”, enabling the authorities to further crack down on foreigners, particularly Central Asian migrants who have been relentlessly targeted since the terror attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall in March.
