Migrant Workers Forced to Change Places of Residence Frequently and Thus Face Xenophobic Russian Attitudes More Often, ‘Russian Migration’ Survey Finds

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Aug. 10 – Eight out of ten Russian employers of immigrant workers don’t help them to find and keep housing, and as a result, 37 percent are forced to constantly change where they live, something that exacerbates attitudes both among them and among xenophobic landlords, according to a new survey by the Russian Migration organization.

            In response to this situation, the survey by a group that seeks to defend immigrants found, 43 percent of migrants rely on friends and relatives, something that reenforces their tendency to form ethnic enclaves, or turn to Internet listings, where they like other Russians are often subject to manipulation and exploitation (akcent.site/novosti/45675).

            What this means is that the Kremlin’s effort to reduce the number of immigrants by means other than the use of visas infuriating both non-Russians who are experiencing these aspects of Russian life and ethnic Russian residents who are thus more likely to come into contact with immigrants than would otherwise be the case.

            And what that means is obvious: the means the Russian government has adopted to try to ensure that migrants won’t cause social problems or engage in violence of any kind are not solving that problem but in fact making it worse either directly inside Russia or in the homelands of the migrants if they are forced to return there.