Deputy Head of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces and commander of the volunteer formation "Akhmat" Apti Alaudinov believes it is necessary to toughen the punishment for inciting ethnic and religious hatred in Russia. In his statement, he emphasized that "not a single criminal should be named by nationality, because crime has no nationality."

"In our country, I believe that there should be a very tough punishment for interethnic or interreligious conflict. Therefore, I hope that both the country's leadership and our representatives of all branches of government will do everything possible to ensure that it is not possible to destabilize the situation on ethnic or religious grounds in our country. Not a single criminal should be named by nationality, because crime has no nationality. It has a specific person who committed it," Alaudinov said.

Currently, Article 282 of the Criminal Code (“Incitement of hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity”) provides for punishment of up to imprisonment for a term of 3-6 years.