Has the conflict in Ukraine provoked an increase in discrimination against ethnic Russians?

Question

Is there increase in discrimination or intolerance towards ethnic Russians since the beginning of the military conflict in Ukraine? I am particularly interested in the data on Eastern Europe (former USSR and former Soviet satellites), where, for historical reasons, the dislike of "Russians" might go back decades or even centuries.

Clarification: I am asking about the discrimination based on ethnicity/language/cultural background, i.e., not associated with the Russian citizenship or the position on the conflict in Ukraine.

Background: Perhaps it is worth mentioning that the number of ethnic Russians not living in Russia is estimated to be 20-30 millions (about fifth of the total number of Russians in the world.) The question is mainly about this group (not about whether measures applied to Russian citizens or Russia supporters are qualified as Russophobia.)

More background
The following article outlines what might constitute discrimination: Following Ukraine Invasion, Russian-American Workers Are Being Harassed

"If the employer does wish to make a more forceful denunciation, the employer should limit it to denouncing the decision of Vladimir Putin to attack a sovereign nation—as opposed to using language like 'Russians attacking'—and indicate that the employer supports all those fighting and protesting the invasion," she added.

"It is one thing to condemn the Russian government or Putin. It is another thing to make disparaging comments about the Russians as a people," said Jonathan Segal, an attorney with Duane Morris in Philadelphia and New York City. "The former is appropriate and acceptable. The latter is unacceptable and harassing," even if it isn't severe and pervasive enough to be unlawful harassment.

Answer 1

Yes, basically. To exemplify with Poland, as reported in April:

Over fifty cases of discrimination were reported to the Center for Monitoring Racist and Xenophobic Behavior in Warsaw, its head Konrad Dulkowski told Kafkadesk. This marks a drastic increase compared to the pre-war period, and is likely to be much higher in reality considering all the unreported cases.

(Personally, I would have been amazed if this didn't happen, judging from past wars. Such data/events are not restricted to Eastern Europe; they've also been reported in Germany, Israel, or Canada for instance.)

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I suppose (reading another answer) a point of contention may be whether a sign like "we don't serve Russians" (in a shop--mentioned in that piece) or whether someone running Russian language lessons getting "murderers" yelled at them (for Bucha) can be easily ascribed to ethnicity vs citizenship discrimination. I think human rights organizations (NGOs or state-run) just don't find desirable to try to further sub-classify incidents based on such finer-grained criteria. So, it may not be exactly possible to answer the question as asked with "hard stats".

Also/aside, there's some variation in how various EU countries treat nationality in harassment/discrimination laws (p. 75).

several Member States have included nationality as an expressly protected ground in national anti-discrimination law, including Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania and the United Kingdom.

(Also Ireland and Sweden, apparently.) As noted there, in some [other] EU countries, nationality based discrimination is only more narrowly prohibited e.g. for workers, but not necessarily for customers. So I suspect that would also affect at least how the official statistics on such issues are gathered. Poland, specifically, seems to fall in that latter category, as far as its laws go. The Center mentioned in the earlier quote is actually an NGO, not a Polish gov't org.

Answer 2

Citizens of Russian Federation, drivers whose cars bear Russian license plates, companies seated in Russia and similar face increasing disregard and official sanctions. This is because citizens are seen as responsible for the actions of the democratically elected government, with the war being run under they name and representing they interests. The opinion is mounting that citizens of Russian Federation support Putin and invasion (source) so they are responsible (source). Among other things, people attempting anti-war postings get actively reported by ordinary people who see them. As it is said here, “You cannot abstain from this war. If you want to abstain, don’t complain that you are being kicked out."

This is very different from the Soviet way of thinking along "we are small people, we have no control over that government, it will be sh..ty regardless how do we vote, we even do not know the truth and will never do, this is not our war". May even be true but Western world does not think so.

More than 120 ethnic groups, speaking some 100 languages live within Russia's borders. 30,000 of Black live in Russia. These 120 groups all share the same grave treatment with no exceptions. Sources claiming that ethnic Russians are treated differently from others invariably mix citizenship with ethnic origin. Most often either "Russian citizens" are mentioned in the beginning of the article and then "Russians" are used dowstream or the word "national" is used and you need to google separately to figure out what it is.

I found no notable (statistical) references confirming that Russians are discriminated by exactly they ethnic origin in notable numbers. One guy in Lithuania posted hate speech against ethnic Russians in public media and earned immediately a jail sentence. And a local Russian guy who also attempted a hate crime faces the same and now wears an ankle monitor. So two references, but both have been dealt with by the state that does not tolerate. These cases are clearly not in thousands or hundreds.

Keeping local ethnic Russians and Russian Federation far separately in the brain was the first lesson all Baltic states needed to learn for getting into EU. Nobody would have accepted them with ethnic clashes running. They managed to stand in 1991 under tremendous pressure, there were provocations worse than now so people have the experience with this, have the resistance. They are unlikely to be provoked.

V. Putin creates a confusion by saying that any citizen of Russian Federation can call oneself Russian. When so, the word "ethnic" becomes essential to know what are we talking about.

Answer 3

Short answer, "yes" and understandably so. When you appear to be from a country that is on an imperial rampage in the region, people will be defensive.

Now allow me to rant on the "Ethnic Russian" term, although you might be using it acceptably in this question, referring to former USSR satellites other than Ukraine or Belarus where there is no such thing as Ethnic Russians as a community.

I've spent time in Ukraine and Russia and I find the concept of ethnic Russian to be pretty absurd specially in the context of Ukraine. Originally it was mainly a propagandistic term used largely by Putin's regime and its outlets, but it seems like a lot of people have picked it up abroad.

It's an idiotic concept. It's not very different to calling English-speaking Irish people (the majority of them are either English-first or English-only) "Ethnic English" or the Spanish speakers in the Americas "Ethnic Spaniards" let alone in the context of an implied right to statehood, or to rejoin "mother Rasha" - it's a pseudo-fascistic blood-and-soil line of propaganda that assumes Russian Empire rebuilding to be legitimate on a Mein Kampf-esque Race, Nation and State basis.

I despair when people casually bring up "ethnic Russians" in casual conversation, unless it's in a sensible context like for instance where they are a clear separate minority that retains clearly delimited customs, even religion, as it may happen in places like the Uzbekistan or the Caucasus, and more appropriately inside of the Russian Federation but outside of actual Russia. There you can legitimately speak of ethnic Russians. But in Ukraine or abroad? absurd term to use. Russian-speaking Ukrainians are 100% Ukrainians and Russian is, despite of the understandable tensions inside of Ukraine, also a native language of Ukraine, perhaps more so than it is native to Russia.