October 09, 2024

Duma: "Good Luck, Migrants!"


Duma: "Good Luck, Migrants!"
A stack of Russian passports. The Russian Life files

At a time when xenophobia and labor shortages are on the rise in Russia, Duma legislators have presented a new package of five anti-immigration laws. 

On September 29, Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin posted on Telegram, "We are returning to the conversation about improving migration policy." Yet, the issue of migration and xenophobia is not new in Russia.

According to Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Fellow Temur Umarov, Russian society was becoming "increasingly accepting of newcomers." However, Russia's invasion of Ukraine halted that trend.

Xenophobia further spiked after the shooting that killed 145 people at Moscow's Crocus City Hall on March 24. Central Asians with ties to the Islamic State were behind the attack. Russia began to expel migrants en masse, detain them at borders, and threaten to send them to fight in Ukraine. Migrants from Central Asia were especially targeted.

On October 1, five bills were submitted to the Duma. The first measure required recognizing a migrant's illegal status as an aggravating circumstance in any criminal case. The second item proposes to classify the organization of illegal migration as a crime punishable by 15 years of imprisonment and millions of rubles in fines. 

Another added measure is the criminalization of the forgery of documents and fictitious registration with a penalty of up to R60 million ($627) and six years in prison. Individuals such as Tatyana Kotlyar, who allowed migrants to register themselves under her address to access benefits, are now criminally liable.

The legislative package also includes the extrajudicial blocking of websites selling counterfeit documents and a ban on intermediary organizations accepting exams from migrants. The Deputy Chairperson of the Duma's Migration Committee, Irina Yarovaya, also suggested testing newcomers for hepatitis B and C upon entry.

These are not the only restrictions imposed on migrants since 2024. More than ten regions have introduced restrictions on the work of foreigners in taxis, public transport, retail, and education, among other areas.

A "register of migrants" was also announced. A list of "controlled persons," which includes the names of illegal immigrants whose residency permits have expired, is expected to be made publicly available. 

Migrants are not the only ones facing persecution. The chairwoman of the migrant rights NGO "Civic Assistance," Svetlana Gannushkina, was also targeted in legislation. The telegram channel "Rybar," which is affiliated with the Ministry of Defense, accused 82-year-old Gannuskina of having connections with British intelligence. The next day, the FSB knocked on the organization's door while Gannuskina wasn't there. 

Organizations like Gannushkina's previously received grants from the government and worked together with officials. Umarov told Mediazona, "The same activity that was encouraged (...) is now criminal. Literally, three years ago they could [help migrants], but today it is no longer possible."

You Might Also Like

Forced to Be Sorry
  • September 24, 2024

Forced to Be Sorry

In 2024, Russians publish public video apologies every two days.
Deportations Double
  • June 03, 2024

Deportations Double

The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported dramatic increases in deportations and entry refusals. 
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955