Having Provoked Anti-Russian Attitudes in Central Asia with Tough New Migration Policies, Moscow must Get Ready to Evacuate ‘Tens of Thousands’ of Russians from There, Aksyonov Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Sept. 14 – Many Russians welcome Moscow’s tough new policies on migration but fail to note that these are producing anti-Russian attitudes in Central Asia where there are still many ethnic Russians and from which Moscow must be ready to evacuate Russians because local governments can’t protect them, Sergey Aksyonov says.

            The Svobodnaya Pressa commentator says it is understandable that some Central Asians will be angry at Russians for how Moscow is now treating them and that such anger can lead to “a wave of Russophobia” in their countries which the Russians living there now can only escape from by fleeing back to Moscow (svpressa.ru/society/article/532061/).

            The two countries in Central Asia which have sent the most migrant workers and thus are most likely to create a situation for ethnic Russians in them who may decide that they have no choice but to flee are Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, the first with one million and the second with 1.3 million workers in Russia and with 30,000 and 600,000 Russians at home.

            “It is naïve,” Aksyonov says, to think that the authorities in either country can protect ethnic Russians living there from popular retribution. After all, he continues, “you can’t put a police officer next to every ‘Muscovite.’” Consequently, large numbers of Russians now in Central Asia are likely to want to leave as Moscow puts more pressure on immigrants.

            Because this is the case, he continues, “Moscow needs to prepare in case of need to urgently help compatriots in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. And not just attempt to calm passions  by saying we must live together as it tried in the Donbass but be ready for the evacuation of tens or even hundreds of thousands of ethnic Russians” back to Russia.