The Secretary of the Security Council of Russia stated that migrants are responsible for about 38,600 crimes. Migrants commit about 2% of crimes nationwide, said Sergey Shoigu, Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, in an interview with TASS. According to Shoigu, as of the end of last year, there were 6.3 million foreign citizens […]
The Secretary of the Security Council of Russia stated that migrants are responsible for about 38,600 crimes.
Migrants commit about 2% of crimes nationwide, said Sergey Shoigu, Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, in an interview with TASS.
According to Shoigu, as of the end of last year, there were 6.3 million foreign citizens in Russia, and in 2023, there are 5.9 million people.
“At the same time, the number of crimes committed by them has practically not changed and amounted to 38,600. This is about 2% of the total number of registered crimes in the country,” noted the Secretary of the Security Council.
Previously, a number of officials, deputies, and public figures claimed that the majority of crimes in Russia are committed by migrants. In their opinion, the increase in the number of crimes is linked to the rise in the number of foreigners in the country.
However, based on the data provided by Sergey Shoigu, the number of crimes committed by migrants is negligible compared to those committed by Russian citizens.
Experts note that officials blame migrants for various crimes, which increases tension in Russian society towards migrants. The result of this rhetoric is a tightening of migration policy, mass deportations of migrants, and constant raids and detentions.
Meanwhile, according to statistics, due to increasing pressure on labor migrants, accusations of crimes, and unjustified deportations, they have already begun to leave Russia, and compared to previous years, their numbers have significantly decreased.
Experts no longer view labor migration to Russia as a sustainable strategy, although for a long time migration to Russia remained one of the main directions for migrants. In their opinion, political changes, economic difficulties, and growing threats of discrimination and restrictions in Russia create unfavorable conditions that force migrants to leave Russia in search of better conditions for labor migration. They noted the growth of economic development in the Central Asian republics. According to them, the economy of these countries is being invested in by China, and Russian companies are relocating production there. As a result, new jobs are emerging there, comparable in salaries to those in Russia.
After the attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue, in which citizens of Tajikistan are suspected, thousands of Tajik migrants in Russian cities and regions have undergone mass checks and raids. Tajik labor migrants complain that during these raids, law enforcement officers detain even those who have all their documents in order, take them to police stations, and hold them there without food and a place to sleep, treating them poorly. After that, migrants were mass deported, and some were forcibly taken to military enlistment offices for further dispatch to the war in Ukraine.
Starting from February 2025, a bill will come into effect that prohibits foreign citizens from working in schools, the pharmaceutical sector, state medical institutions, taxis, and freight transportation across the country.
According to statistics, in 2024 alone, more than 90,000 migrants were expelled from the country by Russian courts. For comparison, in 2023, 44,200 people were deported from Russia, and in 2022, 26,600.