Russia under threat from ethnic divisions

By Kondrokov Alexander Source:Global Times Published: 2013-7-1 20:18:01

Illustration: Liu Rui/GT
Illustration: Liu Rui/GT



Two contradictory opinions on immigration prevail in today's Russia. One holds that Russia belongs to Russians, while the other supports a return to a new Soviet Union.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in late May that Moscow doesn't welcome migrant workers from Central Asia, which triggered great controversy.

According to Sobyanin, migrant workers should return to their homeland after a period of working in Moscow and Moscow has no interest in creating conditions for their permanent stay. He also expressed hostility toward the formation of ethnic ghettos in Moscow, opposing immigrants who live in Moscow while acting based on laws of their motherland. Why did Sobyanin make such remarks?

Migration during the Soviet Union period was "internal." It was not painful for different ethnic groups to live in a multinationality country then. They saw themselves as Soviet people, who spoke the same language, accepted the same education, and had the same living conditions with equal rights guaranteed.

Many people permanently migrated from different sub-national Soviet republics to big cities like Moscow. For them, especially intellectuals, they could adapt to metropolitan life as easily as they could master the Russian language. However, that ethnic policy died out with the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

Education in the Soviet era affected a great deal of people morally, who well understood the faults in insulting another ethnic group, which was both condemned by the law and public opinion.

Migrant workers from Central Asia in Moscow now are rarely urban citizens who have studied Russian at schools, but mostly farmers. Older generations of Russians may still treasure friendship, but Russia as a nation is confused about how to deal with migrant workers from former Soviet Union republics. 

Migrants during the Soviet era were elites like scientists, artists, and leaders, while nowadays Moscow is overwhelmed by rural migrant workers who barely speak Russian. Most migrant workers in Russia do odd jobs in low-skilled positions.

But I believe Russia does need the influx of migrant laborers. Migrant workers take up the labor shortage in Russia's service industries, such as trade, private construction and municipal services, and they actively engage in community life in some large and medium-sized cities.

Moscow's Deputy Mayor Andrei Sharonov admitted that one-third of jobs in Moscow are done by migrant workers. He suggested a change in the visa system and supervision and management system of foreign residents.

Nowadays, Moscow, St. Petersburg and major cities in the central and southern regions of Russia have become jammed. A large part of the migrants are from the North Caucasus, Transcaucasia and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Some schools in Moscow have as many as 70 percent of students from migrant families and 25 percent of the population cannot speak Russian. Relevant authorities have proposed tackling the problem of language education through legislation.

Religion is another problem. Most migrants are Muslims. Their religion may affect the local attitudes toward them. 

Russia doesn't have any new regulations on the immigration issue except the policy that all migrants should eventually leave Russia. Many believe Russia will never become like the US, which is dubbed a "big melting pot." One of the main reasons is that Russians have been left with deep wounds due to the disintegration of the Soviet Union and they don't trust the government or governmental agencies, which makes them unconfident and anxious.

Xenophobia is not the main problem in Russia. However, Russians, especially the young and the poorly educated, easily and consciously turn their dissatisfaction with society into ethnic confrontation. 

The immigration problem is a real and existing one. Our Russian urban citizens are prone to living in a separate circle. We want our children educated in a favorable environment and neighbors with familiar lifestyles. We don't want neighbors who we cannot understand or build trust with.

Some argue that migrant workers, who live in the form of ethnic ghettos, will further divide Russian society and even lead to the collapse of the country. But in fact, their existence in independent ethnic communities is a neutral thing - they are simply working in this country.

The author is a manager of Grand Renome Co., Ltd and lives in Moscow. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn



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