by Shefali Rekhi, Assistant Foreign Editor

A few weeks ago, on the streets of Moscow, a group of skinheads gunned down a Tajik migrant worker, chopped off his head and e-mailed the gruesome picture to human rights groups.

The 20-year-old victim was one of the millions of migrants from impoverished former Soviet republics who seek a better future in Moscow.

But with Russia experiencing a sharp slowdown, he ended up becoming one of the victims of hate crimes against migrant workers.

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