A Russian agency is pushing new rules of conduct on Central Asian migrants that severely restrict usage of their native languages and warn them about praying in public and sacrificing animals for religious purposes.
Central Asian migrants are told about the strict rules and code of behavior in a 70-minute course created by Russia's Federal Agency of Ethnic Affairs (FADN) in seminars in certain parts of the country.
It includes for them to have mandatory knowledge of the Russian language and the country's migration laws, not to use their native language when they talk about Russians, and not to whistle at members of the opposite sex. The course also tells them "not to even whisper" in public using their mother tongue, Kommersant reported.
Moreover, the common Central Asian practice of addressing people as "brother" or "sister" is said to be unacceptable when referring to Russians.
Along with the language and behavioral restrictions, there are also religious limitations. The slaughtering of animals for religious worship in public will also be prohibited.
In addition, the lecture -- which includes 11 animated videos with a character named Timur -- also includes a history lesson in which the migrants are told that "Central Asia's development was significantly funded by the budget of the Soviet Union."
Lecturers are also supposed to tell the migrants about the possibility of "obtaining Russian citizenship in a simplified manner" by serving in the Russian military. Warnings about consorting with extremists or people involved in terrorist activities are also given.
While such behavioral regulations have not yet been made into law, some analysts told Kommersant that this "adaptation course" could become mandatory for all migrants seeking long-term residence, employment, and citizenship in Russia.
Stanislav Bedkin, the deputy head of the FADN, said the course was successfully tested in four Russian regions, including Moscow. After some refinements, he said the updated course was sent out to all of the country's regions.
'It Will Increase Corruption'
Many Kyrgyz migrants in Russia only became aware of these suggested rules from online news reports. Asan, who has spent the last seven years working in Russia, says he considering going back to Kyrgyzstan or trying to go to the United States because of his concern over the reported new regulations.
"The laws here are changing every day. Let's see what will happen.... They can't fine you [yet] for speaking in Kyrgyz," he told RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service.
Kyrgyz migrant Maksat -- whose family name was also withheld for security reasons -- thinks the new rules will increase corruption among Russian police.
"They will make money from migrants for something that doesn't exist," he said. "It will increase corruption [among law enforcement]. Migrants will suffer as usual. We will remain silent as if we are in a totalitarian regime."
The course has already been implemented in at least the Kaliningrad, Moscow, Perm, Yakutia, and Krasnodar regions, Kommersant reports.
A representative from Kyrgyzstan's Migrant Ministry in Russia told RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service that "the new rules on the behavior of migrants are only a proposal," and the whole course is currently being studied by Kyrgyz officials.
Kyrgyz lawyer Erlanbek Toktosunov, who works in Russia, agrees with the requirement for migrants to know Russian laws. But he says most of the migrants from Central Asia seeking jobs in Russia come from rural regions and don't speak Russian.
"Ordinary people from the rural regions of Central Asia go [to Russia] to make a living but most of them don't speak Russian well and they are just going to work as street sweepers or in construction," Toktosunov told RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service.
Could Russia Survive Without Its Migrants?
According to the Russian Interior Ministry, approximately 10.5 million labor migrants -- primarily from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan -- work in Russia.
Central Asia has for many years been the main source of cheap labor for Russia, crucially filling gaps in a workforce that is experiencing shortages due to the needs of the military since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
While top Russian officials are well aware of the country's labor deficit and its negative economic impact, some regions are imposing restrictions on the employment of migrants.
Some 18 regions have or are in the process of legislating a ban on migrants from jobs such as taxi driving, selling alcohol and tobacco, and working in catering and financial services. Most of these restrictions came about after the Crocus City Hall terror attack near Moscow in March that resulted in 145 deaths.
Anti-migrant sentiment in Russia has been high ever since the attack, leading countries like Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to warn their citizens against traveling to Russia.
Since Crocus, many would-be migrants have been held in detention upon arrival in Russia and many refused entry -- despite having valid documents -- and sent back to their home countries.
Even before the terror attack, migrants were often subject to cases of discrimination in Russia.
Each year, Russian authorities employ extensive anti-migrant campaigns in which they conduct sweeping raids on mosques, businesses employing Central Asians, and migrant gathering places.
Despite such difficulties, many Central Asians have little choice but to continue working in Russia.
Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are among the poorest countries in Central Asia and the remittances from citizens of those countries working in Russia account for nearly half of those countries' GDP.
