On video: shooting attack in a concert hall near Moscow/use according to Article 27 A of the Copyright Law
Migrants from Central Asia in Russia have reported an increase in the number of incidents of violence, vandalism and racism towards them since last week's deadly attack on a concert hall in Moscow.
Four Tajik citizens were accused of murdering at least 140 people in the attack, for which the "Islamic State" organization (ISIS) accepted responsibility, and they were brought to court with signs of torture. In addition to them, several other suspects were arrested - all of them of Central Asian origin. Russia, without providing evidence, said it suspected a Ukrainian connection to the attack, something Kiev strongly denies.
In view of the expected increase in tensions after the massacre in the hall in Moscow, the Embassy of Tajikistan in Russia warned its citizens over the weekend not to leave their homes except in urgent cases.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan called on the citizens of the country not to give up unnecessary trips to Russia. Authorities in neighboring Uzbekistan issued a similar warning to all those living in Russia or planning to travel there.
Hundreds of thousands of residents from Central Asian countries, Muslim republics that were part of the Soviet Union, work in Russia, and some already say that it is more difficult for them to do so since the attack. Some passengers, for example, refuse to board taxis with Tajik drivers.
Radio Free Europe reported that many passengers trying to fly to Moscow on Monday from the capital of Turkmenistan, another Central Asian country, were not allowed to board the plane. According to the report, they were told by immigration and law enforcement officials that this was related to the "recent terrorist attack in Moscow."
The mainstay of the Russian economy. Migrants from Central Asia in Moscow/Reuters
Shortly after the attack in Moscow, some Russian members of parliament called for stricter immigration laws. One of them suggested deporting immigrants from Russia "for the slightest offense". However, there is no realistic chance of this happening.
Any damage to the availability of migrant workers could cause problems for the Russian economy, which relies heavily on workers from Central Asia in sectors such as construction, retail and delivery services.
Russia is suffering from a general manpower shortage due to the demands of its war in Ukraine, which has led it to call up 300,000 reservists in 2022 and caused hundreds of thousands more to flee the country.
Alexandra Prokopenko, an economist and analyst at the Carnegie Center, said the flow of migrants has "virtually stopped" since the start of the war - both because migrants may face pressure to join the Russian military and because of competition from other countries to attract them.
"All these people from Central Asia can go to work in the Gulf countries, South Korea or Turkey - they can find work and there will be no problems with remittances due to (Western) sanctions, there will be fewer problems in terms of safety and security, and probably the local authorities will treat them better than in Russia" , she said.
More in Walla!
Genital electrocution and ear amputation: the terrorists in Russia were brought to court after torture
To the full article
"An attempt at religious division"
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, said Friday's attack was an attempt by those who wish Russia's harm to stir up inter-religious tensions.
"An attempt will be made to pit two traditional religions (Christianity and Islam) against each other, an attempt will be made to divide people according to religious principles and also to pit them against each other. Of course we cannot allow such a thing in Russia," the religious leader was quoted in the RIA news agency.
Over the weekend, a business owned by immigrants burned down in the city of Blagoveshchensk in Russia's far east, and several immigrants were beaten in Kaluga, a city southwest of Moscow. Also, migrants from Kyrgyzstan were held at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport for two days and locked in a room without food or water before being later allowed to return to their homes.
"Many people don't like non-Russians anyway, and now we have this situation," wrote one person in the Telegram group "Tajiks in Moscow" after the attack. Fearing a backlash from the Tajik community, another wrote: "Please, God, let [the attackers] be Ukrainians instead."
One of the terrorists who carried out the attack in Moscow with signs of violence on his body in court/Reuters
Valentina Chupik, a lawyer who works with migrants on a voluntary basis, told Russian media outlet Mediazona that she had received 2,500 reports of "acts of aggression" against migrants in the two days after the attack in Moscow. The police raided migrant dormitories and hostels across the country and arrested several people. According to her, more than 30 cases of torture were also reported following the arrests.
Four days later, the lawyer told the BBC that the numbers were continuing to rise and some Tajiks had told her they were considering leaving Russia.
"A group of Tajik citizens asked me to provide them with safe housing because they are afraid to live in their hostel," Chupik said.
Chupik says that discrimination in Russia usually affects immigrants "who do not have Slavic facial features," and "most of the humiliation and violence comes from Russian law enforcement agencies, not ordinary people."
Central Asian countries warn their citizens in Russia. The burnt concert hall in Moscow after the attack/Reuters
While Friday's attack in Moscow exacerbated the situation, immigrant communities have long been targets of police repression.
Every year, Russian authorities carry out large waves of arrests of immigrants, with dozens of raids on businesses, mosques and gathering places of Central Asian residents. According to reports, last year the wave of arrests resulted in the deportation of more than 15 thousand immigrants.
In January, the governments of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan demanded that Russia investigate a video on social media showing migrant workers being humiliated during a raid in Yekaterinburg.
Still, many Central Asian migrants often have no choice but to continue working in Russia. Tajikistan is the poorest country in Central Asia and half of its gross domestic product (GDP) comes from remittances sent by relatives abroad.
"Be careful, good people," said one member of a Tajik Telegram group. "After that, it will definitely be a difficult time for us, the brothers and sisters."
More on the same topic:
Russia
ISIS
Moscow
Tajikistan
Kyrgyzstan