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Migrants in the Crossfire: Russia’s Recruitment for Ukraine War Sparks Tensions

Russia’s ongoing “special military operation” in Ukraine has increased the demand for additional forces, and, in response, Russia is increasingly viewing the use of migrants as a good solution to the situation. As of September 1, 2024, official figures state that 3,985,000 citizens of Central Asian countries lived in Russia. Uzbekistan leads the way with over 1,792,000 migrants, followed by Tajikistan with more than 1,231,000, Kazakhstan with 606,900, Kyrgyzstan with 262,800, and Turkmenistan with 92,000. Some Central Asian migrants have signed contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense to participate in the war, motivated mainly by financial incentives. However, economic reasons are not the only factor driving them to war. People from Central Asian countries who have received citizenship are also being threatened with imprisonment for failing to join the war effort. TCA has previously reported on efforts by officials to recruit young men detained at the Sakharovo immigration processing center to join the Russian army and fight in Ukraine. In addition, a decree issued by Vladimir Putin has simplified the process for foreigners who join the military to gain Russian citizenship. In contrast, Central Asian governments have looked to discourage their citizens from engaging in the conflict. For example, Uzbekistan has warned that any citizen involved in the Russia-Ukraine war will face legal consequences. In October 2023, an Uzbek citizen who fought in Ukraine for financial reasons was sentenced to three years in prison by a Uzbek court. The defendant had returned to Uzbekistan after being wounded in the conflict, and authorities discovered military documents and proof of his Russian citizenship during their investigation. By September 2024, a growing number of Central Asians had perished in the war, including 47 Uzbeks, 51 Tajiks, and 26 Kyrgyz nationals. In Kazakhstan, since 2014, following the start of the war in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, criminal liability was been introduced for citizens who participate in armed conflicts abroad. A person who commits such an offense can be punished with imprisonment for up to 12 years, face the confiscation of property, and be deprived of their citizenship. For example, in November of last year, a 34-year-old man from Kazakhstan was imprisoned for six years and eight months for participating in the war in Ukraine. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have also applied measures involving the deprivation of liberty their citizens who participate in the war. Tajikistan’s economy significantly depends on remittances from labor migrants in Russia, which account for approximately one-third of its GDP. Despite the war in Ukraine, over 1.7 million Tajik citizens sought work in Russia in the first half of 2022. However, reports indicate that many Tajik migrants are being sent to Ukraine against their will, raising concerns. The situation further deteriorated after a terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in February 2024. Tajik nationals were among the primary suspects, leading to a shift in Russia’s attitude towards Central Asian migrants. Tajikistan’s Foreign Minister, Sirojiddin Muhriddin, expressed concerns over the violations of Tajik citizens’ rights in some CIS countries, calling for a...

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Soar in Lithuania’s Central Asian Migrant Population

Lithuanian intelligence reports that the number of Central Asian migrants in the country has increased 14-fold since 2021. According to Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, the number overall is still relatively small and is not a cause for concern. She explained that the labor market, once filled by workers from Ukraine and Belarus, has shifted following the call for Ukrainian men to fight in the war. As a result, more Central Asian workers are being hired. Darius Jauniškis, head of Lithuania’s State Security Department, told LNK News that his agency cannot screen all migrants, raising counter-intelligence and terrorism concerns, and because the government is working on next year’s budget, his remark is perceived as a request for more funding for the VSD (State Security Department). In response, the Prime Minister said the growth in migrants, though large, isn't particularly high. She stated that only a few hundred foreign nationals had been issued with temporary residence permits in Lithuania this year, but added: “There were indeed problems. These problems were already partially regulated by existing laws- and - from 2025 onwards, when the quota [for workers from third countries] who can come to Lithuania will be in force, it will be possible to impose additional regulations on these issues." Data from the Migration Department shows that as of October 1, around 10,600 Uzbeks were living in Lithuania, compared to 8,200 at the start of the year, and the 998 recorded in early 2022. Thus, Uzbeks now make up the fourth-largest foreign community in Lithuania. The number of migrants from Tajikistan also increased from 5,700 to 7,200 in the first nine months of 2024.

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Kyrgyzstan Reports Growing Return Migration

Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Labor, Social Security and Migration and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced the results of their assessment of the country’s migration trends on October 15. The statistics show that return migration increased from 2020 to April 2024, and the number of migrants returning to Kyrgyzstan is continuing to grow. The number of returning migrants increased by 85% in 2023 compared to the previous year. Kyrgyzstan’s southern Osh and Batken regions and the northern Chui region lead the figures in the number of returning labor migrants. According to the report, the number of Kyrgyz citizens who plan to migrate once again to the country from which they have just returned has decreased by half. In June, the Speaker of the Kyrgyz Parliament, Nurlanbek Shakiyev said that more Kyrgyz people are returning from abroad, and over the past two years, the numbers have reached 241,000. Shakiyev cited the opening of many new industrial enterprises in Kyrgyzstan in recent years as a reason for growing return migration, emphasizing that Kyrgyz citizens can now earn more at home. Over the past 30 years, hundreds of thousands of Kyrgyz citizens have left their homeland as labor migrants, mainly for Russia. In the last couple of years, however, there has been a growing trend of return migration largely caused by Russia's deteriorating economic situation, depreciation of the ruble, stricter rules and harsher attitudes toward Central Asian immigrants, and increasing attempts by the Russian authorities to recruit Central Asian immigrants (with or without Russian passports) to join Russian troops fighting in Ukraine. According to a 2022 census by Kyrgyzstan’s National Statistics Committee, more than 876,000 Kyrgyz citizens (close to 15% of the country’s population) migrated abroad. The top five destination countries for Kyrgyz migrants were Russia (870,304), Kazakhstan (2,158), Turkey (1,828), Germany (336), and South Korea (240). The IOM report states that 328,458 Kyrgyz nationals have lived abroad since 2020. As of 2023, 79% live in Russia, 4.5% in Kazakhstan, and 4% in Turkey. According to the report, the primary drivers of migration were dissatisfaction with wages in Kyrgyzstan (26%), lack of job opportunities (17%), financial difficulties and debts (16%), and a perceived lack of prosperity in their homeland (10%). According to the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic, in 2023, remittances from Kyrgyz labor migrants totaled $2.144 billion, compared to $1.873 billion in 2022.

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Tajikistan Expresses Concerns over Violations of its Citizens’ Rights in CIS Countries

The most recent meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was hosted by Moscow on October 7. During the meeting, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan, Sirojiddin Muhriddin, expressed his concern about the violation of the rights of the republic's citizens on the territory of some CIS countries. Emphasizing the need for a comprehensive approach to solving migration issues in the countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, he called for consideration of all parties' interests: host countries, migrant-sending countries, foreign citizens, and the local population. The Minister also addressed urgent security issues and stressed the need to strengthen the fight against terrorism, extremism, illegal drug trafficking, and transnational crimes. He invited the CIS states to participate in the international conference on counterterrorism, scheduled for early November in Kuwait City as part of the Dushanbe process.

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Kyrgyz Prime Minister: Labor Migrants From EAEU Should Not Be Discriminated Against on Territory of the Union

Speaking at a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in Yerevan, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Akylbek Japarov said that tightening migration laws should not apply to citizens from EAEU countries. According to Akylbek Japarov, increasing trade between EAEU countries and developing cooperative ties is the basis for sustainable economic growth. However, the main participants in any integration are people, so the attitude toward the citizens of the EAEU countries in any state of the Union should be the same. “Such a level of integration has been reached, when business and citizens of member states understand and deeply believe in the unity of the economic union (EAEU), and respectively require the same attitude to themselves being on the territory of any of the EAEU countries,” said the head of the Cabinet. Therefore, according to Japarov, the leadership of the EAEU countries should pay special attention when tightening migration legislation and adjust their attitudes toward migrants from union countries. Following the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall near Moscow, the Russian authorities significantly tightened migration legislation. Thousands of citizens, mainly from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, were subjected to forced deportation. The restrictions also affected Kyrgyz citizens, although the country is a member of the EAEU. “We proceed from the fact that legislative initiatives should not contradict the norms of the EAEU treaty; that is, they should not apply to our working citizens and members of their families. Both in the documents initiated by state structures and in the public space, it is necessary to separate the rights of citizens of the EAEU countries from those of countries that are not part of it,” Japarov emphasized. According to official data, about half a million Kyrgyz citizens work in Russia. The unofficial figure may be two or three times higher.

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Central Asian Countries Unite To Support Women and Children Repatriated From Conflict Zones

UNICEF Uzbekistan reports that Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are actively working to improve the support system for women and children returning from conflict zones, such as Iraq and Syria. In support of the European Union's project “The second phase of EU-UN support to Central Asian states for their citizens returning from conflict zones,” delegations from the above met to discuss their shared experiences and means of providing necessary support and services for successfully reintegrating women and children into society. Uzbekistan was one of the first countries in Central Asia to start repatriating its citizens from conflict zones. Since 2019, the country has undertaken several missions to return women and children stranded in conflict zones as part of operations known as “Mehr” (“kindness” in Uzbek). The “Mehr-1” and “Mehr-2” operations have enabled the Government of Uzbekistan to repatriate many of its citizens, and in cooperation with the government of Iraq and UNICEF, offer a safe haven in their motherland for children deprived of basic necessities such as food, clean water, and medical care while living in war zones and refugee camps. On their return, repatriated citizens are placed in special sanatoriums where they are provided with hot food, clothing, and the services of doctors, therapists, and teachers. To date, Uzbekistan has successfully repatriated 531 citizens, including 331 children, 125 women, and 27 men. The country's initiative has been praised internationally and noting its focus on the interests of children and supporting the family unity and society, Ní Aoláin, a UN expert has stateed that, “The Uzbek model of repatriation and reintegration provides a roadmap for other governments to return their nationals from conflict zones." Kazakhstan, likewise, has committed to the repatriation of its citizens from areas previously controlled by the Islamic State, and has launched operations “Jusan” and “Rusafa”, implemented with a high level of coordination between various government agencies, including national security services, diplomats, and the military. One of the most essential repatriations took place within the framework of the “Jusan” operation, launched in 2019. The name “Jusan” means bitter wormwood; native to Kazakhstan and a symbol of homesickness. Through this operation, hundreds of women and children were rescued from dangerous refugee camps in Syria, including the notorious Al-Hol Camp. Maryam, one of the women repatriated during the “Jusan” operation, said that the "first time a delegation from Kazakhstan arrived was to collect data on Kazakh citizens in the Al-Hol Camp. They promised to come back for us soon. A month of waiting felt like an eternity to us.” According to women from the tent camp, the shortage of drinking water and provisions, essential medicines, and the unbearable heat aggravated the situation and led to constant conflicts between residents. The humanitarian operations “Jusan” and “Rusafa” enabled the return of 725 people to Kazakhstan, including 188 women and 522 children, most of whom were under twelve years of age. Kazakhstan's success in such operations has been attributed to the high level of investment by the state. According to Gabit Konusov,...