After the terrorist attack in Moscow, the inhabitants of Central Asia are increasingly attacked and discriminated against. Many have been working in Russia for years.

Teenager Islam Chalilow (right) helped save people from the concert hall and is now being honored for it. Photo: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters

BISHKEK taz | “You can no longer work as a taxi driver. They always immediately ask: 'Are you Tajik?' I answer that I am from Kyrgyzstan. However, I still hear hostile comments or accusatory questions about why I wouldn't return to my home country,” says Maksat (name changed), taxi driver in Moscow. He has been working in Russia for more than five years. He tried various jobs, from construction worker to kitchen helper at a small restaurant. He has been behind the wheel for the past two years. He says there have always been many reservations about immigrants in the Russian Federation. But after the March 22 attack, intolerance increased again.

New defendants emerged last week in the Crocus concert hall terrorist attack case. One of them is Alisher Kasimov, 31 years old. The father of four children comes from Kyrgyzstan. According to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he changed his Kyrgyz nationality to Russian in 2014. He is an entrepreneur and also rents apartments. Tajiks suspected of organizing the attack lived in one of these apartments.

Since the arrest of another migrant from Central Asia, the reintroduction of a visa regime for citizens of the former Soviet republics is being debated in Russia. The proposal came from the chairman of the Just Russia – Patriots – For Truth party, leader of the party's faction in the State Duma.

This initiative is viewed with disapproval in Kyrgyzstan. According to official figures alone, more than 1.5 million Kyrgyz are in Russia as migrant workers. But no one knows how many Kyrgyz actually live there. There is a lot to be said about Russia as a place to work, especially that you can work there without a work permit or visa. Furthermore, the average income in Moscow is three times higher than in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

Shared history and language with Russia.

Other important factors are historical references, the lack of language barrier and the large Kyrgyz diaspora that has emerged over the years in the cities of the Russian Federation. Many of my compatriots have a Russian passport in addition to the Kyrgyz passport. Others have now changed their nationality, like Alisher Kasimov.

The family of Islam Khalilov, the teenager who helped evacuate people from the concert hall, is in the same situation. The 15-year-old's parents came to Moscow from southern Kyrgyzstan many years ago to work. And he stayed. His son was born there. Islam is a Russian citizen. In Kyrgyzstan it is very common for young and healthy family members to go to work in other countries, mainly Russia. They send their earnings to their parents or save to buy a house in Bishkek.

But migrant workers often do not return. They start families, have children and become Russian citizens. Only those who have children in Kyrgyzstan return to their country. There is even a term for this: “migrant children.” These are minors who grow up with their relatives, often grandparents, or live under the supervision of their older siblings.

Parents send money for support and return home once a year to check on their children. “My son and daughter-in-law have been working in Moscow for ten years. She sits at the checkout in a supermarket, he works in construction. My grandchildren live with me,” says 78-year-old Nurilja-Apa. She is one of those grandmothers. For many years she has taken care of her three grandchildren alone. The family was already able to buy an apartment in Bishkek. However, they no longer believe that they will ever return home. Or bring the children to Moscow. However, they also do not want to leave her elderly mother alone.

More controls after the terrorist attack

After the attack on Crocus Town Hall, Nurilja-Apa spoke to her son on the phone. The family is in contact through video calls and messaging services. She said that now there are more frequent checks. They enter the dormitories where immigrants live and also arrest people on the street. Those whose documents are not in order will be arrested and deported from Russia. Tajik citizens in particular are targeted and treated very rudely, sometimes even brutally. But all the Central Asians are controlled,” says the old woman. She is also very afraid that her son will be drafted into the army and sent to war.

Until now, many Kyrgyz have avoided mobilization. But after the events in the concert hall it cannot be ruled out that more men will now be recruited from the ranks of migrant workers who have Russian citizenship. Cases of this type already occurred during the first mobilization in September 2022. At the same time, Valentina Chupik, a well-known human rights activist who helps migrants for free, calls on Central Asians to leave Russia as soon as possible. possible if they don't want to go to war.

Some listened to them and returned home, but most remain in Russia despite the risk. Attacks or verbal violence against people of Asian appearance are no longer uncommon in Russia. Not even Russian citizens of non-Slavic appearance are spared.

On March 24, a Yakut woman fell victim to nationalists: in a subway station she was surrounded by five young men, one of whom had a club in his hand. They threatened and insulted the girl. No passersby intervened. Attacks of this type were reported more frequently after the attack on Crocus City Hall, but do not appear in official Russian media. Immigrants are willing to talk about these incidents. But only anonymously because they fear for their lives.

After images of terror suspects brutally tortured in the courtroom, migrants from Central Asia no longer have anywhere to seek protection in Russia. You can only hope you get lucky and don't get arrested. And not enter the focus of attention of people with a nationalist mentality.

Translated from Russian Gaby Coldewey