I live in Voronezh. I am a white Englishman and have been here for 3 years.

The police will do nothing...they have done nothing for years. This is not the first time a student has been murdered, and it wont be the last. I drive a UK registered car so I rather stick out as a foreigner but in truth I can say that I have never expereinced any problems, even during the Gulf War when anti American/British feeling was being stoked up by the media.

To answer Tanya...I dont think so, the trouble here seems to be motivated by colour. Also the attacks usually take place in isolated areas. One of my staff was there at the place of the attack and saw the police operation...its not a park, its a part of the forest with a roller-blade circuit cutting through it. Its huge and isolated. Past attacks have happened on the outskirts of the city. The foreign students all live in a couple fo apartment blocks on the edge of Voronezh (I live 500 metres from them).

Russia is a racist country, its inherent, even the word in their language for a coloured person is offensive to most of us. There is absolutely no tolerence here. Students are easy prey, they have no back up, they are here alone...and to be frank, no one cares what happens to them. That is evident from the mayors comments, the fact that the police turned up 3-4 hours after the attack just shows how much they care. The police here are good for nothing except lining their own pockets...thats a fact !!

My business brings foreigners to Voronezh, we have never had any trouble, mainly because clients heed my advice. The same way that a white tourists should not wonder late at night in the middle of Harlem in New York, or Watts in L.A. then visitors should understand where they should not go...thats common sense.

Steve Williams
Voronezh