Tajik Migrants Facing Threats in Russia After Massacre

In the days since the mass killing at the Crocus City concert hall near Moscow, blameless Tajik migrants across Russia have been subjected to threats, verbal abuse and increased harassment from law enforcement. Panic is mounting – not just among Tajiks, but other Central Asian expatriate diasporas too – about the potential long-term fallout of intensified discrimination fueled by rage over an attack that has left more than 140 people dead.

Atovullo, a 35-year-old Tajik living in Moscow, told Eurasianet that his landlord summarily evicted him without explanation immediately after the Crocus attack, which investigators say was perpetrated by a gang of Tajik gunmen. It has always been difficult for people of non-European backgrounds to find apartments in the Russian capital – now it may become almost entirely impossible.

Mounting Concerns Over Migrant Rights: Tajik Migrants Facing Threats

Atovullo said he has now resolved to return to Tajikistan, mainly because he does not want his young children to be bullied. However, there are significant concerns about the rights and welfare of migrants if they are forced to return home. Tajikistan has the weakest economy anywhere in the former Soviet Union. Joblessness is rife. Remittances sent home by migrant labourers account for around four-fifths of the economy. Petty corruption and poverty often make starting a business a fruitless endeavour. Anybody complaining vocally about how things are run is liable to be jailed or called in for hostile interrogations by law enforcement.

Around 1.3 million Tajiks live in Russia. This may be a major undercount, though, since an unknown quantity of migrant labourers does not appear in the official data. People volunteering in migrant solidarity networks in Russia have since the weekend been urging fellow expatriates to avoid leaving their homes unless necessary, amid concerns over their safety and rights.

The Climate of Fear and Discrimination

Russian media have reported on the adoption of heightened security measures directed specifically at foreigners. Baza, a Telegram news channel, cited its sources as saying that police patrols and criminal investigation officers have been ordered to step up random checks on non-Russians. Squads of police have been dispatched to inspect hostels and other locations where foreigners might congregate.

Aggressive raids by migration officials were already routine. Russian media often carries reports of police swooping on apartments, workplaces and canteens used by foreign workers. From time to time, footage surfaces online showing detained migrants being subjected to degrading and violent behaviour.

This dark climate has left some fearing for their lives and rights as migrants. Nekruz, a 23-year-old Tajik who works part-time for Yandex Taxi in St. Petersburg, said he has been asked by dozens of potential clients about where he is from. When they learn he is Tajik, they cancel the order.

Dilorom, another native of Tajikistan living in Russia, says she constantly looks over her shoulder out of fear for her rights and safety. “I am not going outside, and I won’t go to work on Monday,” she told Eurasianet over the weekend. “If I fall into the hands of embittered [xenophobes], there is no way of knowing that I can escape alive or have my rights upheld through the law.”

Dwindling Support for Migrant Rights

When Russia invaded Ukraine, conditions immediately worsened for any activists working on human rights issues, including groups working to protect the rights of migrant labourers. Almost all formal activists have left Russia, meaning that victims of abuse and fraud have nobody to turn to to have their rights protected.

What little public solidarity there has been for Tajik communities has come from social media influencers. Russian rapper Timati posted a filmed appeal on Instagram to call on his supporters and fellow influencers to refrain from inflammatory racist rhetoric and behaviour.

But for many like Atovullo, the prospects look increasingly grim amid the crackdown and lack of advocates for migrant rights.