Discrimination in Russia. Why did the pressure on immigrants increase?

After the bloody attacks in Moscow, nationalism and chauvinism rose again in Russia. Migrants are being beaten, vandalism and racism have increased. Central Asian countries (the Foreign Labor Migration Agency of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, embassies and other official agencies) have warned their citizens working in Russia.

Immigrants from Central Asia make up a significant part of labor migrants in Russia. They are especially abundant in the retail, transportation, and construction industries. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, about 10.5 million immigrants from Central Asia work in Russia. Even more may be unregistered. This is related to Russia's visa-free regime.

Unfortunately, after the incident, the pressures on immigrants increased. A business owned by migrants was set on fire in Blagoveshensk in the Russian Far East, and several migrants were beaten in the city of Kaluga, south-west of Moscow. Kyrgyz migrants were detained at Moscow's Sheremetevo airport for two days and locked in a room without food or water until they were sent home, while taxi drivers in Moscow began asking customers if they were from Tajikistan. Police raided hostels and migrant hostels across the country and made several arrests. Their number continues to grow. Discrimination in Russia usually affects "non-Slavic" immigrants, "the abuse and violence comes mostly from Russian law enforcement agencies, not ordinary people." This gave impetus to the further strengthening of nationalism and chauvinism in Russia. In fact, nationalism is not a foreign phenomenon in Russia. In 1916, General Kuropatkin said: "The people of Turkestan cannot put their local and national interests on a par with the interests of Russia and the great Russian people. Russia is primarily for Russians..." he said. One of the geniuses of the proletariat, Friedrich Engels, called Russia the "Prison of Nations". Even today it remains a prison of nations.

They say that terrorism has no nationality or religion. But in Russia, 4 non-Slavic-looking people were in trouble for being Tajiks. Such raids and mass deportations have increased in all Russian cities. Especially Tajik migrants and mosques are becoming the main target of raids. The reasons are simple. In our opinion, the first factor of today's nationalism is the Russian government's attempt to preserve itself. People's discontent is emerging in the context of the intensifying war against Ukraine. To prevent the rising of the people, to unite them towards one goal. That is, to show Ukraine and the countries trying to preserve their independence as a bully in all problems. Achieving public support by shifting the blame to Ukraine. Immediately shifting the blame to migrants against the background of the fact that the social and economic scandals are becoming public. That is, an external enemy will be found for the people. It seems to unite the Russian people. It distracts the people from the political and economic problems caused by the theft and inaccuracy of the government. "These immigrants are to blame for all the problems, without them there would be more jobs and you would live better." Even if a migrant commits a violation that causes a small administrative fine, it is said that "all crimes are committed by migrants." A propaganda machine of falsehood is launched. State resources are involved. The idea that all bad crimes are committed only by migrants is inculcated. Simple people also fall into this informational trap. He gets his knowledge from aliens. As a result, there are more cases of attacks on foreigners on the streets, insults to them, and refusal to serve them in shops and offices. In this way, the government distracts the population from the main and acute problems.

In addition, the fact that the Central Asian countries are leaving the reins of Moscow against the background of the war in Ukraine has worried the Kremlin. Now, by putting pressure on migrants, Moscow wants to put pressure on Tajikistan to join the Eurasian Economic Union and to return Uzbekistan to EOII and CSTO. In this way, it is reminded that the dependence of the population of the countries of Central Asia on the money sent by migrants, unemployment, that is, the problem that can lead to political instability, is indirectly curbed by Russia. Moreover, RF Defense Minister Shoigu made a statement in MO that thousands of anti-Russian NGOs were created by the West. Now, these NGOs can be limited in their activities as forces that tend to terrorist, extremist groups that threaten security.

In addition, Russia wants more cooperation from the Central Asian countries on the issue of Ukraine. However, cooperation with Russia, which has become a loner in the political arena, may now lead to bad consequences. Therefore, it is possible that the Russian government is sending a special "signal" to the countries of the region.

Russian elites either do not understand that nationalism has serious consequences or do it on purpose. Ramzon Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya, has not for nothing emphasized that this will lead to serious problems. Nationalism is any form of enmity of one part of the population living in the same territory against another part of the population living in the same territory or neighboring countries. This is politics. Management is the policy of achieving a goal by diverting and diverting the attention of the majority in situations that may be out of hand.

Nationalism is a companion of fascism, Nazism, chauvinism, racism, Zionism and other evils. So, where nationalism is on the rise, at least one of them takes root. Some argue that nationalism also has positive consequences for the state and its indigenous population. Basically, they believe that this situation causes self-sacrifice and love for the country. In fact, this is nothing but self-deception. The reason is that at the base of any nationalism lies xenophobia - fear of others, hatred of "foreigners". Love of country has nothing to do with nationalism. Hating another nation and people does not lead to love for the motherland. A person who loves the motherland loves its people, black and white, high and low, and all its nationalities.

I want to say that nationalism and chauvinism do not stop in Russia. It will continue to develop. Regardless of who is in power, the country will continue to expand its territory. We are a great nation. In the sense that we are threatened by the West, it does not hesitate to take the former Soviet republics under its control. Now the Kremlin does not want to create an equal allied country with them, but wants to include them in its structure. This is evidenced by the frequent statements of Russian historians and politicians that disparage Uzbeks and Central Asians. Central Asian countries cannot stay away, despite bitter statements, because they are under Moscow's influence.

Russian authorities continue to conduct large-scale anti-immigrant campaigns. As a result of last year's campaign, it was reported that more than 15 thousand immigrants were deported. Experts say that half of Tajikistan's gross domestic product comes from remittances from relatives abroad. That is why they continue to go to Russia "despite many problems". Russia's complex immigration laws mean that even workers who arrive legally are often left without the necessary documents. Being an undocumented immigrant exposes them to harassment by employers, poor living conditions, and lack of access to health care. Shortly after the terrorist attack in Moscow, several Russian MPs called for tougher immigration laws. One of them proposed to expel immigrants from Russia "for a minor violation". But there is no real chance, because Russia also benefits from immigrants from Central Asia. In addition, politicians insist that the total population of Russia and migrants from Central Asia should unite against the West. On the other hand, under the pretext of the war against Ukraine, they themselves have fueled the right-wing moods, and now they are not able to prevent this militant mood from turning against the migrants. In addition, they recently said with the language of such an influential person as Patriarch Kirill that "migrants, especially Central Asians, are dangerous for Russia, because they belong to a different religion and undermine the cultural unity of Russians." On the other hand, the demographic crisis in Russia has worsened due to the Ukrainian war, and without labor migrants from Central Asia, the government will be powerless in the face of the crisis. Due to the war in Ukraine, the labor shortage in Russia has increased. However, long years of tension and xenophobia make the life of immigrants in Russia nervous. Russian politician, the main ally of Vladimir Putin, Sergey Mironov, proposed to cancel visa-free travel for residents of Central Asian countries in order to "strengthen national security". Russia, which has a small population compared to its territory, cannot resort to this measure. Only the Russian government can strengthen control over migration processes to counter terrorist attacks.

In my opinion, even in the conditions of xenophobia, the people of MO do not give up on working in Russia. It worked before, and this process will continue. But until the terror of terrorist attacks is forgotten by the Russians, the cases of the countries of the region, especially the Tajiks, will increase due to fear. The MO countries, located between two great countries - China and Russia, have no choice but to live in harmony with Moscow, and the population works as labor migrants in Russia. If Russia defeats Ukraine in the war, it will certainly gain a large territory of Ukraine as the winner, and as a result, an army of "black workers" will be needed to restore that land.