There are about 50,000 skinheads in Russia, who commit on average 30-40 attacks a month based on motives of xenophobia and ethnic enmity, said the Moscow Human Rights Bureau\'s Director Alexander Brod. \"I can ascertain a dramatic increase in the number of acts motivated by xenophobia and ethnic hatred, including assaults and beatings. Over the last 3-4 years, the number of such acts has been growing annually by 30%,\" Brod told the press on Wednesday. \"There is virtually no region [in Russia] where there are no skinheads,\" he said. Moscow and St. Petersburg are home to about 2,000 skinheads each, and their number in other cities varies from 500 to 1,000. \"Neither society nor the state is purposefully fighting against extremism and xenophobia,\" Brod said. Holocaust Foundation President Alla Gerber told the same press conference that some people in security and law enforcement agencies benefit from the skinheads\' activity. \"I cannot say who finances or even simply facilitates the activity of radical neo-Fascist groups and parties, but I am sure they keep their finger on the pulse of these activities, and skinheads definitely do not exist simply by themselves,\" she said. The human rights advocates called for drawing the attention of the public, the state, and law enforcement agencies to the problem and \"jointly fighting\" this evil. (Interfax)