Tajik migrants in Russia are being forced to go to war in Ukraine

The authorities of Russia are putting pressure on and forcing Tajik migrants, living in Russia, to sign a contract to participate in military actions in Ukraine.

Azda TV has obtained an audio recording of the head of the Tajik diaspora in Samara, Sunnatullo, in which he informs migrants that he was summoned by the authorities of the Samara region. According to him, the authorities threaten migrants who have obtained Russian citizenship to report to the military enlistment office by March 1 of this year for registration and to sign a contract to participate in the war in Ukraine. He stated that individuals with five or more children are exempt from participation in the war, but those with fewer children are required to report. If they fail to voluntarily comply with the requirement to appear at the military enlistment office, individuals who have obtained Russian citizenship face the threat of deportation and a lifetime ban on entry into the country.

According to Sunnatullo, the authorities of the Samara region asked him to encourage even those who do not have Russian citizenship to voluntarily report to the military enlistment office to sign a contract, and if they go to war voluntarily, they will receive Russian citizenship. 

The head of the Tajik diaspora in the Samara region also noted that these are strict instructions, and it is not a joke; they should be taken seriously. He stated that the authorities of the Samara region gave equally strict instructions to the Kyrgyz and Uzbek diasporas to encourage their compatriots to go to war in Ukraine.

Another migrant from the city of Ufa in Russia told Azda TV that in this city there is currently no coercion, however, representatives of the authorities have already visited the central mosque several times and urged people to go to war. They promised to grant Russian citizenship and large sums of money to both the migrants themselves and their families.

Another migrant reported that law enforcement officers from the Sverdlovsk region visited mosques and asked in a very harsh manner why Chechens and other Caucasian Muslims are going to war, while Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Kyrgyz are evading it.

Russian authorities have repeatedly stated that they do not intend to conduct a new mobilization. However, migrants claim that they are receiving threats from all sides that in early March, Russian authorities will conduct a general “raid” to mobilize servicemen at the expense of migrants.

Reports of the forced recruitment of migrants from Central Asia to participate in the war in Ukraine have been coming since the first days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Many natives of Tajikistan without Russian citizenship have died in this war. Although according to the current laws of Tajikistan, participation of citizens in military actions on the territory of other countries is considered a criminal offense, the official Dushanbe has not reacted in any way to the forced call of Tajiks into the Russian army.