MOSCOW (AP) – A top Russian migration official said Friday that the authorities could limit the number of foreign migrants in certain regions of the country to avoid social tensions, Russian news agencies reported.
Vyacheslav Postavnin, deputy director of the Federal Migration Service, said there were about 12 million foreign migrants, illegal and legal, in Russia, even though the nation only needed an estimated 6 million workers Interfax, ITAR-Tass and RIA Novosti reported.
Recently passed migration rules “envision the introduction of certain quotas for persons’ entry into various territories or regions,” Postavnin was quoted as saying. “Experience shows that when a certain critical mass accumulates, and if the local administration is doing nothing to establish dialogue between various ethnic groups, it may lead to conflicts.”
Race riots last summer in the northern town of Kondopoga, which were sparked by a fatal brawl between ethnic Russians and migrants from the Caucasus, underscored the migration problem, which has become a lightning rod for President Vladimir Putin’s government.
Rising popular resentment toward migrants across Russia has focused in particular on dark-skinned people from the Caucasus and Central Asia. Racist attacks and hate crimes are on the rise and the Movement Against Illegal Immigration – a far-right, grassroots political organization – has exploded in popularity in recent months.
Putin last year ordered new measures to reduce the employment of foreign workers in particular at Russian outdoor food markets and goods bazaars, alleging they were crowding out native Russian producers and retailers. Indoor and outdoor markets are staffed heavily by migrants from former Soviet republics, many of them lacking official permission to live or work in Russia and working long hours for very low salaries.
Postavnin said the move allowed the authorities to combat crime at markets.
“We had a horrible situation in the retail sector, markets had turned into criminal havens. We have managed to restore order at markets,” he was quoted as saying.
Anecdotal reports have said many markets, particularly in rural towns, have been hurt badly by understaffing, as migrants closed up shop stands. Postavnin denied that, and said that the government could review the migration quotas if the economic situation requires that.
Russia’s population has dropped precipitously in the past 15 years below 143 million, in a demographic crisis that is blamed on the economic turmoil following the Soviet collapse. Experts say the decline would be even more catastrophic were it not for migrants.
