Russian President Vladimir Putin urged leaders of political parties to unite in countering the manifestations of extremism at a meeting here on Wednesday, saying activities of extremism should be punished.

Putin said there are still legal gaps in the existing law "on the countering of extremist activities, and our efforts cannot be regarded as effective."

"The wording of the laws should be absolutely clear, and punishment should be inevitable and in proportion to the graveness of the offense," Putin was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying.

Putin is also concerned over an easy availability of the materials advocating extremism, especially for the young.

"It is especially alarming that the materials advocating hatred and strife are easily available today. They can be found in book stores, to say nothing of Internet," he said.

Russia has seen a significant rise in hate crimes and ethnic tensions in recent years. Many Russians characterize dark-skinned migrants from other former Soviet republics as criminals and as taking jobs away from Russians.

In September, the Sova research center reported that 33 people had been killed so far in 2006 in racist attacks. Twenty-seven of them were killed in Moscow alone, the Sova report said.

Source: Xinhua