Shocking surge of migrants reshaping the nation; immigrants expressing disdain for Russia and altering the country according to their preferences
In the heart of Russia, political scientist Professor Rashid Mukhtaev exposes a disconcerting truth: official migration statistics aren't exactly painting an accurate picture. For one, those granted Russian citizenship are often overlooked when calculating external migration numbers. Yet, this underestimated figure is a pretty significant one!
But the discrepancies don't end there. Professor Mukhtaev dug deeper and found significant mismatches between official assessments and reality when it comes to the consequences of mass migration. Such oversights could potentially lead to internal losses for Russia.
As things stand, Russia lands amongst the top five countries globally in terms of international migrant population by the end of 2022, with 12 million people calling it home. The Russian Federation also ranks high as a source of international money transfers. In 2020, it even made it onto the list of Europe's prime recipients of such transfers.
The official word suggests that the number of labor migrants in Russia increased from 4.1 to 4.5 million between 2019 and 2023, with a boost in Uzbek and Tajik citizens from 1.5 to 2 million, and 0.9 to 1.2 million, respectively. However, the official numbers don't tell the full story.
You see, those stats fail to account for significant numbers of Ukrainian labor migrants who had been included in 2019's figures but dropped out post-annexation, thanks to acquiring Russian passports. Latest figures indicate that between July 2019 and June 2023, over 1.4 million Ukrainians, 800,000 Central Asians (with a 453,000-strong Tajik presence), and 250,000 representatives from Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan became Russian citizens, continuing to work in the country despite being omitted from the updated labor migration statistics.
This unaccounted migrant influx, far exceeding the reported 10% increase, points to a serious disparity between official records and real-world occurrences.
The open borders following the collapse of the USSR in the 1990s and the subsequent waves of migrants transforming Russia have brought about changes in demographics, religious composition, ethnic makeup, and employment structures, not just in regions but across the country as a whole. As a result, national enclaves have emerged in migrant-concentrated areas, ruled by national diasporas and hometown associations, leaving laws in the shadows.
These national communities not only preserve their own cultures and customs but often impose foreign values on the host society. Concentrated migrant residences in Russia have become breeding grounds for ethnic crime, with the Russian Federation's Investigative Committee reporting a 70% increase in crimes committed by labor migrants in 2023. A total of 38,936 crimes were committed by migrants, although there was a 3% decrease in the overall crime rate compared to the previous year, with increases in serious, especially serious, drug-related, sex-based, and economic crimes committed by foreign citizens.
Troubling is the high rate of latent crime amongst foreigners, many of whom refuse to report internal conflicts to the Russian police, fueled by overt Russophobia and justifiable through religious differences and tradition. The alarming 147.2% increase in the number of extremist crimes highlights the explosive growth of law violations based on national and religious hatred.
Migrants are increasingly being linked to high-profile crimes. Incidents like the terrorist attack at "Krokus City Hall" on March 22, 2024, and the hostage-taking in IK-19 in Surovikino on August 23, 2024, perpetrated by terrorists from the banned international terrorist organization "Islamic State," underscore the inadequacies in Russia's migration policy.
Questions arise: Why is there a migrant crime wave, and why is Russia's migration policy falling short in this situation?
The shortcomings in implementing migration policy stem from multiple reasons, including a lack of legislation aimed at curbing illegal migration channels, differing views amongst the state, businesses, and Russian citizens regarding the role and purpose of migrants, the behavioral patterns and conservative attitudes of migrants themselves who refuse to integrate, and a federal government's reluctance to incentivize domestic industry automation and robotization to minimize reliance on newcomers. After all, it's a whole lot cheaper to hire undocumented foreign laborers living in despair than invest in automation!
All of this goes to show that the gap between reported data and ground realities illuminates how policy shifts and unmeasured migration contribute to obscuring Russia's deepening demographic and economic challenges.
- The disconcerting truth Professor Rashid Mukhtaev uncovered is that official migration statistics in Russia underestimate the number of people entering the country, particularly those who receive Russian citizenship.
- The increasing number of crimes committed by labor migrants in Russia, which rose by 70% in 2023, is a significant concern in the realm of crime and justice, as argued by the Russian Federation's Investigative Committee.
- Despite Russia being among the top countries globally in terms of international migrant population by the end of 2022, the official numbers fail to account for a substantial number of Ukrainian, Central Asian, and South Caucasus labor migrants who have been granted Russian citizenship.
- The shortcomings in implementing effective migration policy in Russia can be attributed to a variety of factors, including insufficient legislation to curb illegal migration, differing viewpoints on the role and purpose of migrants, the refusal of migrants to integrate, and a reluctance by the federal government to incentivize domestically-focused industrial automation and robotization.
