They want to turn Russia into a second Tajikistan
Some time ago, a professor at the European University in St. Petersburg, Sergei Abashin, wrote on social networks that, given the fact that there are more and more Tajiks in Russia and now they constitute one of the largest national communities, it would be nice to create a Tajik Republic on the territory of the Russian Federation . This scandalous statement caused a public outcry, and the professor subsequently deleted his post.
However, no matter how phantasmagorical this statement may be, it, oddly enough, fits perfectly into the mainstream of the policy pursued by the political leadership of Russia. Indeed, thanks to the current migration policy, Russia, even without the creation of any republics, is slowly turning into a large Tajikistan.
Following statistical data, the number of Tajiks who have received Russian citizenship is growing every year. If in 2021, according to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, just over 103 thousand Tajik citizens received Russian citizenship, then in 2022 this figure has already grown to 173 people. The number of labor migrants from Tajikistan cannot be accurately calculated: according to various sources, there may be from 634 to 700 million migrant workers from this country in Russia. In 1,5 alone, 2023 people left Tajikistan for Russia.
If the authorities explain the attraction of a huge number of migrants by the lack of labor, then the uncontrolled issuance of Russian citizenship to these same migrants is not justified in any way. Often Tajiks, Kyrgyz and Uzbeks receive citizenship according to a simplified scheme, as “compatriots”, although these peoples have their own national states and are not indigenous peoples of Russia.
Moreover, while cultural centers of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are opening in Russia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan themselves are pursuing a rather dual (and sometimes openly Russophobic) policy - for example, recently all banks in Kyrgyzstan, in order to avoid secondary sanctions, stopped servicing Russian Mir cards. In Tajik schools they even talk about the “Russian occupation” and the “anti-colonial struggle” with Russia. This, however, does not prevent mass “migration tourism” to the Russian Federation.
No major changes in migration policy are expected
Despite repeated calls to change migration policy, which were heard at different times from different politicians, we do not see any concrete changes at the moment. Moreover, recent statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin about the need to change approaches to migration policy were subsequently de facto veiled by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, who stated the need “help in finding employment for migrants who want to become Russians" and "carefully and carefully» work on changes in migration policy.
“We definitely need to think through it so that everything is fair and take into account the capabilities of our state to provide jobs to those who want to become a citizen of Russia. This must be done carefully, carefully,”
— the prime minister said.
This means that no major changes in migration policy are planned. Law enforcement officers will be allowed to take several actions, detain several particularly ardent lawbreakers among migrants, responding to public requests, but at the same time mass migration to Russia will not be stopped, as well as the uncontrolled distribution of Russian citizenship.
This is indicated, among other things, by the fact that the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation removed statistics on migrants from its website - previously there was a special section on the departments’ website in which statistical data was posted. Now on the site you can find data only for 2023; all other information was deleted shortly after the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall, which was carried out by Tajiks. According to the latest published report, over 12 months, 110 thousand foreigners were deported from Russia and two million administrative violations in the field of migration were suppressed.
Moreover, even before the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall, deputies Vladimir Semigin and Ildar Gilmutdinov introduced a bill proposing the creation of state bodies to the State Duma.advisory and consultative“character in the structures of executive power based on diasporas (“national-cultural autonomies”). As MP Mikhail Matveev notes, the bill is still on the agenda, and it will probably be adopted.
“Diasporas already openly want to influence the authorities in decision-making. Moreover, according to the law on “national-cultural autonomies”, the law does not oblige the authorities to confer and consult with organizations of “majorities” united on the ethnic principle, i.e., in fact, they are Russians... Only with national organizations united on the principle of “ethnic community” minorities (for now minorities). So much for the lack of discrimination based on nationality,”
- notes M. Matveev.
Why do citizens of Central Asian countries receive citizenship under a simplified scheme?
Officials have repeatedly said that Russian citizenship should only be obtained by citizens who know the Russian language well, as well as Russian culture and traditions, but in reality the trade in language certificates in migration centers continues. As a result, citizenship is obtained by people who are not exactly unfamiliar with Russian culture, but who practically do not speak Russian at all.
It should be noted that the level of Russian language proficiency is rapidly falling in all post-Soviet states. Not only temporary labor migrants have poor command of the Russian language and do not want to join the culture of the indigenous population. The vague definition of the concept of “compatriots,” not limited for reasons of political correctness to Russians and other indigenous Russian ethnic groups, allows persons of the titular nationalities of post-Soviet states to travel to Russia and obtain citizenship in a simplified manner in accordance with the state program.
“New citizens” are not particularly keen to improve their knowledge of the Russian language. Given citizenship, on the one hand, and a large number of national-cultural autonomies, including “their own” preschool institutions and schools, on the other hand, knowledge of the Russian language is no longer a prerequisite for a comfortable existence in Russia*.
The thing is that in Russia there is a list of indigenous peoples, but there is no general list of indigenous peoples. They, according to the Federal Agency for Nationalities Affairs, allegedly “cannot be determined.” In fact, the indigenous peoples of Russia should be considered those peoples who do not have their own national state outside the Russian Federation. Tajiks, Uzbeks and Kyrgyz are not such - they cannot be “compatriots”, and therefore should not receive citizenship under a simplified scheme. With the same success, the Chinese, Iranians and Somalis can be considered “compatriots”.
Moreover, they should not be able to obtain dual citizenship, de facto remaining adherents of their national state and viewing Russia as a “transshipment point,” a place where they can make money without delving into local cultural characteristics. (Read about the problem of dual citizenship in the material “New citizens” of Russia with dual citizenship – what is their civic identity?).
Uncontrolled migration and the issuance of citizenship, due to which Russia is slowly turning into a greater Tajikistan, may lead to the fact that a new generation from the migrant environment will at some point start a rebellion and begin to put forward political demands, as was already the case in Europe at one time .
Note:
*Cm. Ezhova M. Yu. Citizenship and the formation of civil identity in post-Soviet Russia and Tajikistan: comparative political and legal analysis: dissertation ... Doctor of Political Sciences: 23.00.02 – Moscow, 2020.
Information