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The National Interest Online
Aug 10 2014
Russia: The World's Second-Largest Immigration Haven
Mary Elizabeth Malinkin
August 10, 2014
"cow in search of
opportunity"--President Obama recently stated in an interview with The
Economist, while making a larger point about Russia's receding role in
the world. While much of his commentary on the overall state of
affairs in Russia was accurate, his comments on a lack of immigrants
in Moscow revealed a blind spot in his view of global-migration
movements--immigrants have been rushing to Moscow for the last twenty
years, and not only to Moscow, but to cities all over Russia.
According to UN Population Division estimates, as of 2013, the
Russian Federation was second only to the United States in the sheer
number of immigrants. This is a fact that continues to elude many
Americans as, justifiably or not, Russia is commonly thought of as a
place to leave rather than a place to which to move. And while it's
true that Russian citizens are emigrating in increasing numbers in
recent years (a phenomenon that has been compared to the brain drain
of the early 1990s), significantly larger flows of immigrants from the
former Soviet Union have been entering Russia for the last twenty
years.
So, why are they coming? While Russia's economy has risen and fallen
over the last two decades, an aging population and high mortality
rates have kept the demand for labor steady and even growing in some
cities. Many of the immigrants coming to Russia are able to earn much
higher wages than they could in their home countries. While life for
the average labor migrant in Russia is hard, to say the least, the
conditions they leave behind are almost always much worse. If there
are no jobs in your town in Uzbekistan or Kyrgystan (which are among
the major sending countries according to both UN and Russian official
statistics), trying your luck in Russia is likely your best option.
While experiences differ widely, migrants I interviewed in cities
across Russia ranging from Moscow to Irkutsk often noted the
appreciably better standard of living than in their home countries.
In addition to labor migrants, Russia has also received many refugees
over the last twenty years. In the early 1990s, Armenians and
Azerbaijanis fled to Russia after the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as
well as Meskhetian Turks from Uzbekistan after ethnic violence there.
Citizens of Tajikistan fled civil war in the 1990s, relocating to
Russia as well as to other former Soviet republics. It is difficult to
measure the true volume of refugees who entered during much of the
nineties, but the number of ethnic conflicts in Central Asia certainly
was the source of large flows. More recently, the 2005 Andijan
Massacre in Uzbekistan also brought many refugees to Russia.
Currently, there are many asylum-seekers in Russia from Afghanistan,
Angola, Ethiopia, Somalia, and growing numbers of refugees from
eastern Ukraine.
My emphasis on the presence of labor migrants and refugees in Russia
is by no means intended to downplay the multitude of problems that are
faced by immigrants and native-born citizens in Russia alike. Those
problems are real and the focus of much study and journalism. However,
as many of the immigrants to Russia are labor migrants from
poverty-stricken, neighboring countries or refugees of ethnic violence
and war, the term "opportunity" that President Obama used may not be
appropriate. Is it an "opportunity" if you are coming in order to
survive? This sentiment should ring true in the United States as the
economic gap between our country and those south of our border is
analogous to Russia's economy compared to those of its neighboring
countries and former Soviet republics.
A stark example of the effects such a gap can have is the child
refugee crisis the United States continues to struggle with week after
week. President Obama's remarks about immigrants (or a lack of
immigrants) in Russia coincide with the latest immigration debate that
boiled over with the influx of child refugees at the border. It is
ironic that in the process of drawing attention to Russia's dwindling
relevancy in the world, President Obama indirectly referenced one of
the most complex and troubling issues of his presidency--the inability
thus far to pass comprehensive immigration reform.
President Obama seemed to be trying to demonstrate Russia's waning
relevance to the United States, keeping it "in perspective," as he
said, but, it is clear from the crisis in Ukraine and the ripple
effects on all of Europe that Russia is as relevant as ever. Shouldn't
our goal then be to engage Russia and the broader region more
productively? One way we could do this would be to recognize migration
as an area where our two countries, the United States and
Russia--numbers one and two, respectively, in terms of immigrant
destinations--could work together and learn from each other. Though the
United States has been an immigration destination for much longer than
Russia, we are clearly still far from figuring out what works best.
Both countries continue to struggle with what to do about masses of
undocumented workers, detention centers, public health concerns,
fervent anti-immigrant sentiment, as well as many other issues related
to immigration.
Though it might not be feasible for the highest levels of government
of the United States and Russia to work together on this issue at this
time, at least there is collaboration between the two countries at the
local level. People-to-people diplomacy continues with multiple
U.S.-Russia working groups on various topics, including migration, and
the U.S. government has had the vision to fund such crucial programs.
I feel fortunate to have been involved in two research groups, one
funded by the National Science Foundation and the other by the
U.S.-Russia Social Expertise Exchange, which had both Russian and U.S.
participants, studying migration issues in both countries. Through
such initiatives, it becomes clear just how many similar problems the
United States and Russia face. Keeping these lines of communication
open helps U.S. and Russian citizens alike gain a real understanding
of the on-the-ground situations in their respective countries, no
matter what statements our political leaders make.
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/russia-the-worlds-second-largest-immigration-haven-11053
From: A. Papazian
Aug 10 2014
Russia: The World's Second-Largest Immigration Haven
Mary Elizabeth Malinkin
August 10, 2014
"cow in search of
opportunity"--President Obama recently stated in an interview with The
Economist, while making a larger point about Russia's receding role in
the world. While much of his commentary on the overall state of
affairs in Russia was accurate, his comments on a lack of immigrants
in Moscow revealed a blind spot in his view of global-migration
movements--immigrants have been rushing to Moscow for the last twenty
years, and not only to Moscow, but to cities all over Russia.
According to UN Population Division estimates, as of 2013, the
Russian Federation was second only to the United States in the sheer
number of immigrants. This is a fact that continues to elude many
Americans as, justifiably or not, Russia is commonly thought of as a
place to leave rather than a place to which to move. And while it's
true that Russian citizens are emigrating in increasing numbers in
recent years (a phenomenon that has been compared to the brain drain
of the early 1990s), significantly larger flows of immigrants from the
former Soviet Union have been entering Russia for the last twenty
years.
So, why are they coming? While Russia's economy has risen and fallen
over the last two decades, an aging population and high mortality
rates have kept the demand for labor steady and even growing in some
cities. Many of the immigrants coming to Russia are able to earn much
higher wages than they could in their home countries. While life for
the average labor migrant in Russia is hard, to say the least, the
conditions they leave behind are almost always much worse. If there
are no jobs in your town in Uzbekistan or Kyrgystan (which are among
the major sending countries according to both UN and Russian official
statistics), trying your luck in Russia is likely your best option.
While experiences differ widely, migrants I interviewed in cities
across Russia ranging from Moscow to Irkutsk often noted the
appreciably better standard of living than in their home countries.
In addition to labor migrants, Russia has also received many refugees
over the last twenty years. In the early 1990s, Armenians and
Azerbaijanis fled to Russia after the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as
well as Meskhetian Turks from Uzbekistan after ethnic violence there.
Citizens of Tajikistan fled civil war in the 1990s, relocating to
Russia as well as to other former Soviet republics. It is difficult to
measure the true volume of refugees who entered during much of the
nineties, but the number of ethnic conflicts in Central Asia certainly
was the source of large flows. More recently, the 2005 Andijan
Massacre in Uzbekistan also brought many refugees to Russia.
Currently, there are many asylum-seekers in Russia from Afghanistan,
Angola, Ethiopia, Somalia, and growing numbers of refugees from
eastern Ukraine.
My emphasis on the presence of labor migrants and refugees in Russia
is by no means intended to downplay the multitude of problems that are
faced by immigrants and native-born citizens in Russia alike. Those
problems are real and the focus of much study and journalism. However,
as many of the immigrants to Russia are labor migrants from
poverty-stricken, neighboring countries or refugees of ethnic violence
and war, the term "opportunity" that President Obama used may not be
appropriate. Is it an "opportunity" if you are coming in order to
survive? This sentiment should ring true in the United States as the
economic gap between our country and those south of our border is
analogous to Russia's economy compared to those of its neighboring
countries and former Soviet republics.
A stark example of the effects such a gap can have is the child
refugee crisis the United States continues to struggle with week after
week. President Obama's remarks about immigrants (or a lack of
immigrants) in Russia coincide with the latest immigration debate that
boiled over with the influx of child refugees at the border. It is
ironic that in the process of drawing attention to Russia's dwindling
relevancy in the world, President Obama indirectly referenced one of
the most complex and troubling issues of his presidency--the inability
thus far to pass comprehensive immigration reform.
President Obama seemed to be trying to demonstrate Russia's waning
relevance to the United States, keeping it "in perspective," as he
said, but, it is clear from the crisis in Ukraine and the ripple
effects on all of Europe that Russia is as relevant as ever. Shouldn't
our goal then be to engage Russia and the broader region more
productively? One way we could do this would be to recognize migration
as an area where our two countries, the United States and
Russia--numbers one and two, respectively, in terms of immigrant
destinations--could work together and learn from each other. Though the
United States has been an immigration destination for much longer than
Russia, we are clearly still far from figuring out what works best.
Both countries continue to struggle with what to do about masses of
undocumented workers, detention centers, public health concerns,
fervent anti-immigrant sentiment, as well as many other issues related
to immigration.
Though it might not be feasible for the highest levels of government
of the United States and Russia to work together on this issue at this
time, at least there is collaboration between the two countries at the
local level. People-to-people diplomacy continues with multiple
U.S.-Russia working groups on various topics, including migration, and
the U.S. government has had the vision to fund such crucial programs.
I feel fortunate to have been involved in two research groups, one
funded by the National Science Foundation and the other by the
U.S.-Russia Social Expertise Exchange, which had both Russian and U.S.
participants, studying migration issues in both countries. Through
such initiatives, it becomes clear just how many similar problems the
United States and Russia face. Keeping these lines of communication
open helps U.S. and Russian citizens alike gain a real understanding
of the on-the-ground situations in their respective countries, no
matter what statements our political leaders make.
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/russia-the-worlds-second-largest-immigration-haven-11053
From: A. Papazian