Sergey Shoigu, the Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, has dispelled the myth of widespread crime among migrants in Russia, stating that migrants account for about 2% of all crimes in the country. He shared this information in an interview with TASS on April 25.
"At the end of last year, there were 6.3 million foreign nationals in Russia, and in 2023, that number dropped to 5.9 million. The number of crimes committed by them remained almost unchanged at 38,600, which is about 2% of the total number of registered crimes in the country," Shoigu explained.
He also clarified that over 10% of migrants overstayed their legal residence in Russia. Over the course of the year, 3.4 million administrative offense reports were filed against foreign nationals. Around 1,500 people had their Russian citizenship revoked for committing serious and particularly serious crimes.
Shoigu also discussed the general crime situation in Russia, highlighting a steady decline in crime rates over recent years. In 2024, 1.9 million crimes were registered, a 1.8% decrease compared to the previous year. However, there was an increase in the number of serious and particularly serious crimes committed by organized groups (up 17.1%), as well as a rise in fraud (up 2.8%) and corruption-related crimes (up 5.8%).
The Secretary of the Security Council expressed concern about the high number of serious crimes committed by minors: nearly one in nine teenagers was under the influence of alcohol when committing a crime, and one in five had previously broken the law.
Other issues highlighted included the insufficient staffing of law enforcement agencies and unresolved matters concerning the involvement of citizens in maintaining public order.
Earlier, Russia's Ministry of Internal Affairs reported an increase in crimes committed by migrants in January. Foreign nationals and illegal immigrants were reportedly responsible for 4,400 crimes, which was 17.3% more compared to January 2024.
