The deteriorating situation in Russia has not affected the number of Tajiks migrating, which is still growing. The number of people obtaining Russian citizenship has reached a record high.
The deterioration of the situation in Russia due to the war in Ukraine has not affected the attractiveness of this country for Tajiks. In 2022, the number of male migrants leaving Tajikistan for Russia increased by 207 percent and almost equaled the record number of 2013.
Graph1. The number of Tajiks obtaining Russian citizenship has increased 6.5-fold over the past seven years
It should be noted that female migration is also growing. According to the Committee on Women and Family Affairs under the Government of Tajikistan, the number of female migrants in 2022 more than doubled to 121,162 – 71,988 more than last year.
Karimjon Yorov, an advocate of the rights of Tajik migrants in Russia, believes that the latter have limited opportunities to choose where they can go to work.
“For example, they need visas to go to other countries, so they have to go to Russia. Today, despite rising prices due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, the number of migrant workers in the country has not decreased,” Yorov says.
He added that when Russia first announced a military mobilization, a significant number of Tajik nationals with Russian citizenship fled to Tajikistan or other countries. But they returned to Russia after the situation stabilized.
Most Tajik migrants admit that they go to Russia to earn money out of desperation. Ahmad Nazarov, 28, left for Russia shortly before the announcement of mobilization. According to him, he could not find work in Tajikistan and was therefore forced to go to Russia.
“I wanted to work in my country, but with a salary of $100-150 it was impossible to support a family. I was forced to go to Russia to earn money,” the interlocutor told CABAR.asia.
Nevertheless, many migrants understand that the risks in Russia have recently increased incredibly.
Aliakbar, a resident of Levakant in Khatlon Province, also returned from Russia to Tajikistan after the mobilization was announced. But his wife and children stayed in Russia.
Aliakbar said he has Russian citizenship and worked there for many years. He said he fled Russia because of military mobilization.
His wife and children cannot leave Russia because they do not have Tajik citizenship and cannot obtain Tajik passports from the embassy. He worries about their safety and wants them to leave Russia as soon as possible.
According to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, in 2022, the “military” year, the number of Tajik citizens who received Russian passports increased by 60%.
In 2022, citizens of Tajikistan received a record number of Russian passports
According to experts, Tajiks choose Russian citizenship because they believe it gives them access to a better quality of life.
First and foremost, it is access to work, for the sake of which Tajiks go to Russia even without citizenship. Although having a Russian passport solves their problem with registration, obtaining a work permits and other bureaucratic issue, which are costly in addition to time.
In Russia, however, there are already calls to involve Central Asian migrants who have received Russian passports in the war on Ukraine. In particular, the head of the Russian Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, recently spoke about this.
Earlier, Russian State Duma deputy Mikhail Matveev explicitly stated the need to send Tajiks to the front.
“Why do divisions of men from Central Asia come to Russia every year to get Russian citizenship (in the first quarter of this year alone, Russians grew by 45,000 Tajiks), but we don’t see them at the front?” – Mikhail Matveev stated.
He added that he is currently studying the legislation and preparing amendments.
Meanwhile, according to media reports, there are already facts of attracting hundreds of migrants from Central Asia to work in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
There are also facts when women prisoners from Central Asia in Russian prisons are offered jobs in Ukraine in exchange for money and the removal of criminal records.
Lawyer Oinihol Bobonazarova is concerned about such information and believes it poses a serious threat to the economy of Tajikistan.
She suggests that Tajikistan also provide opportunities and conditions for women to prevent an increase in female migration.
“For example, in most countries, companies are exempt from taxes if they hire women, or the government offers a number of interest-free loans for women for up to five years to help women open their businesses, and the loan she could repay gradually. So, this is one way to reduce female migration,” said Oinihol Bobonazarova.
She suggests holding talks between Tajikistan’s Foreign Ministry and the Russian Defense Ministry to prevent Tajik citizens, including women, from leaving for Ukraine.
Abdumalik Kadyrov, another expert from Tajikistan, also considers the recruitment of Tajik women in Russian prisons and work in the occupied territories of Ukraine during the Russian-Ukrainian war a great danger. He stresses that the rights of prisoners, especially those from Central Asia, are not respected.
Kadyrov believes that Tajikistan can take a number of steps to prevent such a situation.
“First, the Tajik government can officially appeal to its citizens not to heed any calls to participate in the war,” Kadyrov says.
He also notes that although there is no direct conflict in some areas where Tajik women work, they still have the risk of becoming victims of an air attack.
Authorities can also use the media to warn Tajik citizens about the dangers of such appeals and to contact anyone whose loved ones are in Russian prisons so that they do not risk their lives.
The Tajik authorities state that they have developed and are implementing special state programs to reduce labor migration abroad. Their goal is to provide citizens with jobs inside the country and to train specialists that meet the requirements of today’s labor market.
In particular, last year, Shirin Amonzoda, former Minister of Labor, Migration and Employment of Tajikistan, reported that the “Concept of development of productive employment for the period up to 2040” was developed.
According to it, 100 thousand new jobs are expected to be created for the citizens of the country. It was noted that first and foremost it was planned to create jobs for returning labor migrants.