Conflict in Pugachev is not ethnic and does not require new legislation, Russian parliament speakers say

Pugachev, a city in the Saratov region, where a few days ago a young airforce officer of Tatar origin was killed by a Chechen teenager, continues to discuss the incident from a national perspective. Russian authorities in their reaction to the incident each time stressed that the conflict was civil and should not be interpreted in ethnic terms.

So, just an hour ago, residents of Pugachev gathered again for the "People's Assembly" on Cathedral Square. About 300 people have gathered and the situation is calm. The police did not interfere with the participants gathering to chat and discuss the situation in the city.

Meanwhile, the Speaker of the Federation Council, Valentina Matviyenko, warned about the dangers of fuelling conflicts on ethnic grounds, and stressed that the crime should be investigated only in the framework of criminal law.