Tajikistan has advised its citizens to refrain from traveling to Russia amid increased pressures faced by Central Asians there following the deadly Crocus City Hall attack in Krasnogorsk on March 22.
Tajikistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued the temporary advisory to refrain from traveling to Russia on April 27, a day after Tajik officials expressed concerns about Tajiks being “unjustifiably” denied entry to Russia.
According to the Tajik MFA information department, 954 Tajik nationals, including students studying in Russia, have been held in a temporary detention zone of Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport without ensuring proper sanitary conditions as of April 27.
Of a total number of those strained at the Vnukovo Airport, only 322 people were admitted to Russian territory after many hours of waiting.
A statement says a difficult situation is also observed at Moscow’s airports of Zhukosky, Domodedovo and Sheremtyevo as well.
On April 26, Russian Ambassador to Tajikistan Semyon Grigoriyev was invited to the Tajik MFA. During the meeting, issues related to difficulties Tajik nationals have faced in recent weeks during the crossing the border of the Russian Federation were discussed.
Human rights organizations and Tajik officials have reported rising levels of xenophobia against Central Asians in Russia following the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue that left 144 people dead and hundreds more injured.
Russian investigators say the attack was carried out by four men, all Tajik nationals. Other detainees are being held for aiding and abetting the attackers.
Russian authorities have said 11 Tajik citizens and a Kyrgyzstan-born Russian citizen have been arrested in connection with the attack, Russia’s worst terrorist attack in two decades. Responsibility was claimed by the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-K), an affiliate of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.
Recall, Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin said in statement delivered at a meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers in Minsk, Belarus on April 12 that “an ill-conceived information campaign" in Russia was creating “a negative perception” of Tajiks.
The top Tajik diplomat also condemned the treatment of the Tajik suspects held in connection with the attack amid allegations that the detainees were tortured in custody. He, in particular, noted that when investigating the March 22 terrorist attack, Russian law enforcement authorities must comply with the norms and principles of international law and legal requirements, especially regarding the presumption of innocence, prohibition of torture and ill-treatment of detainees.
Several Tajik suspects showed signs of abuse when they appeared in court in Moscow following the attack. The four accused gunmen had bruised and swollen faces and showed other signs of having been severely beaten. There were unconfirmed reports that one of them had his ear cut off during his arrest.
Russia is a popular destination for Tajik migrant laborers, who are often engaged in construction and agricultural work. More than 652,000 Tajiks traveled to Russia for work in 2023, according to Tajik labor officials. Tajikistan is heavily dependent on remittances from Tajik migrant laborers, with about a third of its GDP coming from money sent home from abroad, mostly Russia.
