ALMATY -- For Russia's large community of Central Asian migrants, the news could not have been worse.
Russian authorities on December 18 said they had arrested a 29-year-old man from Uzbekistan over the assassination of a senior general in Moscow a day earlier.
Moscow blamed Kyiv for the killing of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the highest-ranking Russian military officer to be assassinated since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. A source at the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) told RFE/RL that it had carried out the killing.
But the arrest of an Uzbek citizen whom Moscow claimed killed Kirillov on Ukraine's orders has triggered fear and panic among Central Asian migrants in Russia.
There has been a rise in xenophobic attacks on Central Asian migrants in Russia in recent years. Thousands have been deported or denied entry to Russia, while others have complained of threats and mistreatment.
Now, many migrants expect things to only get worse for migrants from Central Asia.
"There are police vans everywhere," said Zulfia, a citizen of Uzbekistan who lives in Moscow. "Today I was walking near a market and saw several police vans there, too. They detained everyone -- Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, and Tajiks."
"Yesterday they deported my acquaintance along with her daughter," added Zulfia, who did not reveal her full name for fear of retribution.
Anti-Migrant Rhetoric 'Will Be Reinforced'
For decades, Russia has been the main destination for millions of Central Asian workers, who have long faced harassment and discrimination.
In the wake of a terrorist attack on a concert hall outside Moscow in March that killed around 140 people, Russian authorities intensified their crackdown on migrants.
Several Tajik citizens were arrested over their alleged involvement in the attack. The men appeared in court bearing clear signs of beating and torture.
The speed of the arrest of the unnamed Uzbek man accused of killing Kirillov -- the head of Russia's Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces -- has led some analysts to question whether he is a scapegoat.
Alisher Ilkhamov, an Uzbek analyst and the director of the U.K.-based research entity Central Asia Due Diligence, said it was "very likely" that the suspect was tortured.
Uzbeks will be portrayed "to some extent as the villains in this extraordinary event," Ilkhamov said.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said the Uzbek suspect was recruited and trained by Ukraine's special services. It added that Kirillov and his assistant were killed by a bomb concealed on a scooter outside the entrance of a Moscow building.
The FSB published a video of what it said was the suspect's confession. In the footage, the man who appears to have cuts on his face and said he was promised "$100,000 and a European passport" for carrying out the attack.
"Anti-migrant rhetoric has been very popular with Russian politicians recently," Ilkhamov said. "Now that will be reinforced. We can expect to hear more of it from Russia's television pundits and lawmakers."
'Street Inspections Will Intensify'
Among the politicians who have voiced anti-migrant sentiments is Aleksandr Bastrykin, a top ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and head of the Investigative Committee.
Last year, Bastrykin said that migrants who obtained Russian citizenship should be stripped of it if they refuse to fight in Ukraine.
He also claimed there had been an uptick in crimes committed by migrants.
"This is what people are saying: 'While Russians are at the front, migrants are attacking our rear,'" Bastrykin said.
One woman from Kyrgyzstan living in Moscow said the situation was already difficult for Central Asian migrants in Russia.
"I think the position of Central Asian migrants will only worsen after this event," said the woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons. "Street inspections will likely intensify."
