Eurasianet notes that Tajik labor migrants in Russia are trapped in a vicious circle. The value of their ruble salaries is depreciating. The pressure of Russian bureaucracy is mounting. And there is little decent employment to be found in Tajikistan – so returning home is no option.
Tajik labor migrants earn money in Russia at construction sites, as janitors, and, although very rarely, as taxi drivers. Many of them have higher degree, but such educational qualifications all too often cannot be put to use for well-paid jobs.
Labor migrants note that working in Russia has never been easy but now it has become unprofitable as the Russian ruble's devaluation have led to a significant reduction in income for Tajik migrant workers.
It is to be noted that starting from February 2, 2016, remittances that are sent to local banks in Tajikistan in the Russian rubles ae given out in the Tajik national currency, the somoni. Tajikistan’s financial regulator reportedly issued this order for local lending agencies for the purpose of supporting the national currency.
Hard data is lacking. Tajikistan stopped producing figures on how much money was being sent home by expat laborers about a decade ago. Russia’s Central Bank ceased publishing its data on international money transfers around the time the large-scale invasion of Ukraine began.
Eurasianet says it is easier to track currencies. “If 1,000 Russian rubles bought 150 Tajik somonis in February 2022, the month that the war in Ukraine began, the same amount now trades for closer to 120 somoni,” Eurasianet notes.
In the meantime, somoni-indexed prices for basic staples are getting costlier. According to UN calculations, the cost for some essential goods has increased by half over the past year.
By Eurasianet’s own assessment, the cost of rice at Dushanbe bazaars has increased by around 40 percent over that same period. Sugar has risen by one-third in price. Similar spikes have occurred with potatoes and milk.
Many families in Tajikistan are dependent on remittances for their basic needs. The currency depreciation and inflation double-whammy has led them to tighten the belt considerably.
This hardship is reportedly mounting in parallel with a harshening of official attitudes in Russia toward Tajik migrants in particular. Aspiring laborers must, if they wish to receive authorization to work legally, undergo fingerprinting and a medical examination, and pass a test for proficiency in the Russian language, knowledge of the history of Russia and some basics about Russian legislation. They must also obtain medical insurance and register their place of residence. All these procedures can set back applicants about 30,000 rubles, and even after all that, a work permit is not guaranteed.
Arbitrary deportations remain the order of the day. Russian social media is awash with scare stories of ethnic minorities – sometimes from within Russia itself – allegedly behaving themselves inappropriately toward women and children. Tajik nationals can find themselves being deported just for practicing sport on playing fields reserved for children.
The number of media reports about police raids on places frequented by migrant laborers – apartments, workplaces, canteens and the like – suggest these are becoming more common. Video footage routinely surfaces online showing detained migrants being subjected to degrading behavior.
The war in Ukraine has reportedly added another element of hazard to these raids. People found to also be holders of Russian citizenship – as growing numbers of Tajiks are – are liable to be mobilized by the armed forces and sent to the front.
To add insult to injury, the cost of repatriation is borne by the deportee and a migrant will be kept in a temporary detention center until his relatives manage to gather the funds.
