Migration policy is beginning to threaten the security of the Russian Federation – Bezpalko
Residents of Ukraine rank second in the number of Russian passports received in 2023.
Such data was published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, a PolitNavgiator correspondent reports.
39053 Ukrainians received Russian passports. This is 62% less than last year.
The people of Tajikistan come first. 86 Tajiks received Russian citizenship. This is 964% more than last year. 17,26% of Tajiks receiving Russian passports are young men
Armenians are in third place (17), but their number also decreased by 921% compared to last year.
In general, among the CIS countries, the number of those receiving citizenship increased only in Turkmenistan - 1759 (+13,55%).
Ukrainian political scientist Bohdan Bespalko commented on the statistics.
“There are several factors here - both strategic and tactical. The strategy is expressed in the fact that Russia does not have a repatriation policy for the return of Russian people themselves, those who associate themselves with the Russian people, their culture, and Russia as a state. Therefore, any programs that were created for resettlement were not aimed at the Russian population in the post-Soviet space and abroad.
That is, Russian people had to compete on a common basis with the residents of Central Asia, who were very motivated to move. Now people who would like to move are faced with a number of difficulties. Those who would like to move to Russia from Ukraine, obtain citizenship here, and settle down, are physically unable to do this, because all borders are closed. In order to get to Russian territory, you need to cover a very long distance. For example, refugees I know came to Russia through Poland. This can be done through the territory of the Kaliningrad region, but it is still technically very difficult, given the fact that men are not allowed to leave the territory of Ukraine, considering them as a mobilization resource,” he noted.
According to the expert, Tajiks do not have this difficulty, because there is no war, the borders are open, entry is visa-free, and there are a large number of carriers. This causes them to come here in droves. It is also strategic that Tajikistan is one of the poorest countries in the post-Soviet space, whose citizens are motivated to leave because there are very low wages, high unemployment, and a high level of corruption. Russia is the most suitable country in this regard. There is a lot of money there, some kind of labor is always needed, it is easy to get there.
“The problem with citizenship is aggravated by the fact that there is a corruption component, within which construction and industrial lobbyists are trying to get as many migrants as possible. If residents of Kyrgyzstan have the advantage of members of the EAEU, within which they can enter the territory of Russia without a visa and registration of a patent, then citizens of Tajikistan do not have such an option. Therefore, they strive to obtain citizenship here as quickly as possible, using corruption and everything that is legal, from fictitious marriages to participation in government resettlement programs.
We have no interest at the middle and grassroots level. For example, the famous musician Django received Russian citizenship within three and a half years. Changes are taking place with great difficulty, because for natives of Ukraine and Belarus it is completely pointless to take the Russian language exam. Even the registration procedure itself is complicated.
All this is explained by the fact that there is no state interest in Russian people, and on the other hand, construction and other lobbyists. They don't need Russian citizens. The state is afraid to openly declare repatriation for Russians due to the continuing inertia of national policy. Therefore, we do not have a massive influx, and those who come have to experience great difficulties. We do not even have well-developed programs for the resettlement of residents of Belarus, despite the fact that economically there remains a very large gap in living standards. Many would be interested in moving to Russia and obtaining citizenship here,” he emphasized.
According to the expert, there are a lot of unrealized programs - and, conversely, money that is wasted. For example, for the budget of the permanent committee of the Union State. For a number of years, this committee could not even manage its own budget, which amounted to up to 10 billion rubles. He mastered it halfway, publishing magazines and newspapers that no one needed, buying the most expensive health insurance for his employees, and inflating his staff.
“We need to radically change approaches to migration goals. Some of our lands are beginning to be depopulated at a rate of 2-3% per year. We don’t even need to produce anything on these lands, but simply for someone to live on them. Secondly, we do not have repatriation. We have very outdated migration rules. All the programs that were introduced at different periods of time showed their ineffectiveness both from the point of view of the high level of corruption and the fact that they mainly used natives of Central Asia.
If Tajikistan is a sparsely populated state, then Uzbekistan may pose a threat to Russia in the future. If these people move uncontrollably towards the Russian Federation, this will create big problems. And there can be a lot of reasons for such a movement – both military and environmental,” Bespalko said.
As for the statistics of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, they obviously do not take into account citizens of new regions of Russia. As deputy Vladimir Vasiliev said today in the State Duma, more than 2022 million Russian passports were issued there during the period from October 2023 to October 2.
Migration policy is beginning to threaten Russia's security – Bezpalko