Paul Goble
Staunton, June 22 – Andrey Vorobyov, governor of Moscow Oblast, says that those who would like to come to his region from countries where a visa to enter Russia may do so even if they don’t know Russian, an experiment that excludes those from former Soviet republics where no visa is required but one that is going to spark demands that they be allowed to as well.
Under the provisions of this experimental program, he says, “companies will be able to attract workers without a knowledge of Russian because they don’t need it [to do their jobs] and that will solve the problem of the deficit of labor resources” in his region (rbc.ru/politics/21/06/2025/6855a5419a79475114204068).
Vorobyov says he is confident that such migrant workers from countries beyond the borders of the former Soviet space will quickly learn the limited number of Russian words they need to know in order to do their jobs and that their lack of Russian language skills won’t be a problem for them or for the oblast.
On the one hand, this experiment highlights just how hard labor shortages are hitting Russian firms and the desire of businesses and some in the Russian government to find ways around the current limitations Moscow has placed on those who want to immigrate but don’t know Russian.
But on the other – and this is far more serious – it is a certainly that many businesses and many potential immigrants from former Soviet republics for which Russian visas are not required will demand that they be treated equally and allowed to enter and work in the Russian Federation without a language requirement.
If the Kremlin continues to insist on a language requirement for them, that will infuriate both the potential migrants and the governments of the countries from which they might come and deepen the yawning divide between the Russian Federation and countries that Moscow still views as part of its privileged sphere of influence.
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