In the past year, following the terrorist attack at "Crocus" (Crocus City Hall), the number of Tajik citizens deported from Russia increased to 30,000, Tajikistan’s Prosecutor-General, Habibullo Vohidzoda, stated at a news conference in Dushanbe on February 14.
"Previously, up to 1,000 people were being deported per year, but last year this number rose to 30,000," he told journalists. “More than 17,000 Tajik nationals were deported directly from airports.”
Russia hosts millions of migrant workers from Central Asia, where unemployment and poverty have been rampant since the collapse of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago.
The life of Tajik migrant workers in Russia has consistently deteriorated in recent years, especially after the launch by Russia of the so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine in February 2022. However, after the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack, which was allegedly carried out by Tajik citizens, the pressure on labor migrants from Tajikistan has increased even more.
The Russian authorities intensified migration control after the March 22, 2024 terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall. More than 10 Russian regions have imposed bans on migrant labor.
On December 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree requiring migrants illegally present in Russia to leave the country by April 30, 2025, or resolve their legal status.
Starting February 5, 2025, a migration expulsion regime was introduced in Russia. One of the laws signed by the president allows the Ministry of Internal Affairs to deport migrants without a court decision, a power previously limited to courts and border services.
