04/18/2024
The terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in the Moscow region, which occurred on March 22, 2024, led to a surge of xenophobia towards migrants from Central Asia. Numerous raids are carried out, during which Tajiks, Kyrgyz and Uzbeks are either deported or taken to the military registration and enlistment office. However, representatives of the indigenous peoples of Russia are already getting the worst of it – and this has already led to a sharp increase in tension.
Raids and tightening the screws
Russian security forces staged the largest “hunt” for illegal migrants in a decade – raids took place in almost 70 regions of the Russian Federation. During one of them alone, on April 10, six thousand migrants were identified in Moscow who allegedly violated the rules for entering or staying in the country.
During the raids, “law enforcement officers” threw into the “monkey cages” everyone who had a so-called oriental appearance, using police batons or any available means.
Interesting fact: two Yakuts also got it, one of whom turned out to be a “hero of the Northern Military District.” Outraged by the lawlessness of the occupier, who survived the war in Ukraine, Moscow gave a decent beating to his own people.
Russian security forces continue to take some migrants from Central Asian countries, mainly Tajiks, to military registration and enlistment offices. Moreover, among the “recruits” there are both persons with and without Russian citizenship – such cases are now being recorded en masse by Russian human rights activists.
In addition, immigration laws are being tightened. In 27 regions of the Russian Federation, migrants have already been banned from working in taxi services, and in 18 – in the trade sector. Most often, according to the opposition channel “Agency. News”, they are prohibited from selling alcohol, tobacco and food, and a little less often – bread, fruit and wood. In some regions, migrants are also prohibited from working in the hotel business, catering, libraries, and even in the financial services sector. And in Russian-occupied Crimea, migrants were prohibited from holding positions not only in the transport sector, but also in agriculture, as well as in IT.
Now the Putin regime continues to tighten the screws. The Russian Ministry of Digital Development has already prepared a bill according to which foreign citizens, including labor migrants, or stateless persons, will be able to purchase SIM cards of Russian telecom operators only if they register on the Gosuslug portal using biometrics and by personally visiting telecom stores.
They are also planning to filter migrants based on their level of knowledge of the Russian language: Rosobrnadzor has started talking about revising the minimum exam score for foreigners required to obtain a residence permit or citizenship. Now they are going to check oral speech as well.
Also, the Russian Federation has already begun to prepare “camps” for migrants. For example, in the Moscow region they are planning to be housed on the construction site where they work. At the same time, they will be prohibited from bringing their families, including children.
A threat at home
While many Tajiks were forced to leave for their native country due to persecution, in Russia itself the situation is becoming increasingly tense.
For example, in the Volga region live representatives of ethnic groups that traditionally profess Islam and often have the same names as migrants from Central Asia. And the main thing that xenophobes now primarily pay attention to is that these Russians have a “different” appearance.
For example, in Bashkortostan most of the population are Bashkirs and Tatars, in the Chuvash Republic almost 70% are Chuvash, in the Udmurt Republic almost 40% are Udmurts and Tatars, and in the Mari El Republic more than 50% are Mari, Tatars and Chuvash.
Many representatives of the indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation are already reporting the problems that have begun, who are confused with migrants and attacked. An indicative case occurred in Kotelniki, Moscow region, where a Russian woman from Dagestan was targeted.
Amina claims that “after the terrorist attack, the Nazis do not discriminate, and everyone gets it.”
“Some young people came to me and started to be rude that I should go back to my country. But this is my country! My fellow Dagestanis are now fighting and dying in the SVO, and these Nazis are having a blast in Moscow. I have enough courage just to swear at me! Go fight if you are such a smart, brave Russian! – she said in a conversation with The Insider.
And in Nizhny Novgorod they beat up a Buryat who had recently returned from the war in Ukraine and was visiting a colleague – that evening they were relaxing together in a cafe. Local residents mistook the occupier for a migrant.
And such cases when in the Russian Federation both the occupiers taking part in the war against Ukraine and their relatives suffer are becoming more and more frequent every day. And these are the first signs of civil confrontations that Russia has yet to face.