POPULATION-RUSSIA: Kremlin Revamps its Immigration System

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Sergei Blagov

MOSCOW, Feb 27 2002 (IPS) - The Kremlin has pledged to create a system of transparent migration institutions designed to protect rights of legal immigrants, while cracking down on illegal migrants.

Yet it remains to be seen whether putting immigration issues under direct police authority will improve the situation for millions of aliens in Russia, legal or illegal.

In an abrupt departure from the practice of the previous decade, the Kremlin has made immigration a police issue. On Feb 26 Russian President, Vladimir Putin, appointed four-star police general Andrei Chernenko as head of the Interior Ministry’s Migration Service and deputy Interior Minister.

The Russian leader ordered Chernenko to improve the situation in the area of immigration and naturalisation.

The Interior Ministry was put in charge of immigration and naturalisation “so as to restore order, which lacked recently” Putin was quoted as saying by RIA official news agency.

Russia is interested in the immigration of qualified human resources, and migration services should help them, Putin said. These people, former Soviet nationals and others, should go to those regions which need their skills, he said.

On Tuesday Putin signed a decree to improve state migration policies and put the Interior Ministry in charge of dealing with immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. The decree also ordered the Foreign Ministry to hold talks on migration issues with Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, where most of the immigrants come from.

Last year the Russian government revealed a plan to encourage immigration, mainly from other former Soviet states, in order to put to stop to the population decline.

Last July the Russian government approved a programme for 2002 to 2004 and the subsequent decade, aimed at solving the country’s population decline by encouraging immigration.

The government officials have argued that Russia needs to attract between 700,000 to one million migrants a year in order to sustain its population at the current level. According to the official estimates, unless the situation changes, the Russian population will fall from the current 144 million to 80 million by 2050.

The government officials, including Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, have conceded that in recent years, Russia has not had a clearly defined migration policy.

However, during the past decade more than eight million people – of whom nearly 90 percent are Russian-speakers – came to Russia as permanent residents, while four million left the country, according to the official statistics.

On the other hand, according to the officials statistics, there are some 800,000 legal immigrants in Russia, while tentative estimates put figures of illegal migrant population anywhere between six million and 16 million.

Yet many more “Russian-speakers” could arrive in the future. According to UNHCR, some 25 million ethnic Russians are currently living outside Russian Federation. Many of them are returning to Russia, mainly from Central Asian states.

Nonetheless, despite official pledges to encourage immigration, not all of the potential settlers in Russia are particularly welcome. Moreover, the government has made no secret that its immigration policies are likely to be selective. Russia is interested in attracting the ethnic Russians of working age or those with financial resources, officials have said.

Yet the Russian officials have conceded that in previous years many Russian-speaking returnees from other CIS states found it very difficult to find jobs or integrate into the society.

Human rights activists have repeatedly urged a better treatment of the immigrants. Just this week Mikhail Arutyunov, head of Human Rights Defense Assembly, Moscow-based-NGO, suggested legalising the presence of all immigrants and migrants in Russia.

Many immigrants just wanted to live with their own people, speak their own language and put their skills to good use reviving Russia. However, without Russian citizenship or local registration many immigrants have no rights, no way to complain to the authorities and nowhere to go and are being mistreated and abused.

For instance, the city of Moscow strictly enforces a registration policy for all visitors. The police typically conduct identity checks in places, such as markets and public transportation, but they also visit the private homes of refugees. As a result many migrants choose to isolate themselves indoors to avoid the police altogether.

Moreover, Moscow municipal authorities disapproved the governmental plan to invite more migrants. On Feb.26, Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov argued that without registration system Russian capital would be further swamped with illegal migrants.

On the other hand, there have been signs that migrants from countries other than CIS are less welcome in Russia. Notably, governors of Russia’s Far Eastern regions have been lobbying to ban land sales to foreign nationals. The local governors have voiced concerns that the Chinese could buy up land in Russia’s Far East.

The talk about Chinese migrant workers became a topical political issue in Russia’s Siberia, underpopulated but rich in natural resources.

According to Interior Ministry data, every year more than 500,000 Chinese “tourists” come to Russia, but not all of them return to China, staying on illegally.

Incidentally, on Feb.27 the authorities of Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka region announced a decision to restrict entry of Chinese migrants and ban those Chinese already there from working as small vendors.

Russian politicians have long voiced concern over alleged influx of illegal aliens from “far abroad.” However, officials pledge there will be no massive police crackdown.

The migration service will not be a militarized agency, Chernenko pledged on Feb.26. However, we have to know clearly “who comes to Russia and why,” he told RIA. Migration processes should be put into “civilized forms,” Chernenko stated.

Russia’s cabinet minister Vladimir Zorin described the move as a “good decision, because the role of migration service was set to be increased.” Following a recent approval of Russia’s citizenship law, the migration service should be improved and it’s “stagnation and flaws” must be eliminated, Zorin was quoted by RIA on Feb.27.

In October 2001, a civilian agency in charge of immigration, Russian ministry on national, federation and national affairs, was disbanded. There have been repeated allegations of widespread graft at this ministry.

However, the Russian police’s record is not flawless as well. In many regions, police enforce the immigration regulations by routinely detaining individuals to check registration documents. However, illegal aliens in Moscow say that police let them go for a mere 600 rubles (20 U.S. dollars). Some said they easily “purchased” Russian driver licenses from traffic policemen for 350 U.S. dollars.

Therefore, the relevance of Russia’s new immigration policy remains a matter of discussion. While the Russian government pledges to improve the treatment of migrants, it’s still far from clear whether direct police control over immigration could be helpful.