Russia is deporting hundreds of foreigners for immigration violations in the wake of the deadliest terrorist attack in nearly two decades.
Meanwhile, many Tajik migrant workers are leaving the country on their own accord, fearing an increase in xenophobia.
Russian law enforcement has carried out sweeping checks of immigrants in the country after gunmen on March 22 killed 144 people at a concert hall near Moscow. Four of the suspected gunmen are Tajik citizens.
Courts in St. Petersburg this week ruled to deport 418 foreign citizens while another 48 must leave on their own accord, spokeswoman Daria Lebedeva said in a post on Telegram.
The foreigners were rounded up in Russia’s second-largest city during broad searches of vehicles along major thoroughfares.
Other cities are carrying out checks of migrant workers as well.
Russia hosts millions of migrant workers from Central Asia who are employed in a variety of occupations, including construction, street cleaning, retail, and the restaurant industry.
The terrorist attack has sparked an increase in xenophobic remarks and attacks, prompting some to return home now.
Shakhnoza Nodiri, deputy head of Tajikistan's Ministry of Labour, Migration, and Employment, said on March 30 that the ministry has received “a lot of calls” from people who “want to leave.”
However, their departure could worsen Russia’s already tight labor market, experts say.
Russia’s unemployment rate is at a post-Soviet record low of 2.9 percent as the Kremlin recruits hundreds of thousands of men for its war in Ukraine.
The tight labor market is driving inflation higher, threatening economic stability, experts say.
