tribunal's decision
4 The Tribunal referred to the Department's file, the applicant's protection visa application, written submissions, including the written submission in support of his application for review, oral evidence and country information. The Tribunal stated that:
"The applicant's claim to refugee status rests on two broad categories of harm: A [sic] series of anonymous threats and insults received at his home; and the destruction by fire of his employer's garage, in the course of which the applicant was dismissed from his employment."
5 The Tribunal largely accepted that the events claimed by the applicant had occurred. In its view, however, whether they were viewed individually or together they did not amount to persecution within the meaning of the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, as amended by the 1967 New York Protocol. The Tribunal also did not accept that these incidents occurred "with the collusion of agents of the State, or that the State was unable or unwilling to provide the applicant with effective protection against these acts". The Tribunal pointed to the fact that the applicant had not sought State protection in relation to the incidents of which he complained. It stated, "I do not accept that to have raised these incidents with the arson investigator is to have sought protection". There was no relevant reason for the applicant to have failed to report these acts to the appropriate authorities, namely the local police, and to have sought protection.
6 The Tribunal relied on independent country information concerning the position of Jews in Russia. It noted that the Russian Constitution provides for freedom of religion but that this provision is not always respected. While Jews continue to suffer societal discrimination and there have been some recent incidents of violence and intimidation of Jews, nevertheless there have been attempts since 1998 to improve the situation. The Tribunal also referred to President Yeltsin's rebukes of prominent figures who made anti-Semitic statements and the Chief Rabbi's statements in July 2000, "that the Jewish community in Russia experiences no more anti-Semitism than in any other East European nation and much less than in some countries" and that the Russian leadership has "a good attitude towards Jewish people".
7 The Tribunal also noted that crime, and particularly organised crime, remains a problem in Russia but said that there was some evidence that the authorities were making efforts to combat the problem. It also referred to President Putin's attempts to combat organised crime.