Unable to find work at home, millions of Central Asians have left to find employment in Russia over the years.
But the stagnating Russian economy and rising attacks on migrants is leading an increasing number of Central Asian workers to look for job opportunities in East Asia and the West.
While the salaries are generally higher than in Russia, migrants face new obstacles. Moving from job to job is far harder and many struggle with language barriers and cultural differences.
Sanat Zhusipbek moved to South Korea from his native Kazakhstan in 2017 in search of better paid work. But the ongoing political crisis in the East Asian country and its slowing economy have taken a toll on his earnings.
“There are fewer orders [from customers], my salary is lower, and there are more [police] raids on migrants,” said Zhusipbek, who works as a porter outside the capital, Seoul.
The 33-year-old said he took an illegal side job in a factory to cover his losses.
Despite his struggles, he has no plans to go back to Kazakhstan, where the value of the national currency fell by 10 percent against the dollar in the second half of 2024 amid sluggish growth.
Tighter Regulations And More Scams
For decades, Russia has been the main destination for workers from Central Asia, where young populations have outgrown weak economies.
But increasing fear and economic uncertainty have weakened Russia’s pull for Central Asians.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which triggered international sanctions, has hit the economy and diminished the value of the ruble.
Meanwhile, Russia has deported or banned entry to tens of thousands of Central Asian migrants since a terrorist attack on a concert hall outside Moscow in March that killed around 140 people.
More recently, an Uzbek migrant worker was charged over the assassination of a Russian general in Moscow in December, triggering further fear and panic among Central Asian migrants in Russia.
Some Central Asians are choosing to leave Russia of their own accord, fearful of deportation and uncertain about their economic future.
More are travelling for work to South Korea, which has been a popular destination for Central Asian migrants. The East Asian country has increased its intake of foreign workers in recent years.
Figures published by Uzbekistan’s Central Bank in December showed a 70 percent increase in the remittances sent by Uzbek migrant workers from South Korea. In the first 10 months of 2024, the remittances amounted to over $450 million, the Central Bank said.
Money sent from Russia still accounts for 78 percent of the $12.6 billion in total remittances sent to Uzbekistan, the figures showed.
According to Uzbekistan’s Migration Service, some 100,000 Uzbeks are currently working in South Korea.
But the Migration Service warned citizens in a communication in December that the country’s quota for work placements in South Korea may be "seriously" endangered by the roughly 9,000 nationals that it said were currently living and working illegally in the country.
Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubaev said on December 30 that around 350,000 Kyrgyz were registered as working in Russia, compared to 600,000 in 2023.
The number of Central Asian workers moving to the West is also increasing.
But the trend has been accompanied by scams that see migrants duped into making large payments in exchange for promised work in the European Union and the United States.
Bakhodir, a resident of the Uzbek city of Bukhara, fell victim to a scam in October. He came across a Facebook post offering a job as a bus driver in the Czech Republic with a monthly salary of over $3,500.
When he enquired about the job, a woman introducing herself as Elina Borzikova, an employee of Czech Power Consulting, said he needed to pay up front for a visa and insurance. The woman said it was standard practice, and his money would be returned when he started the job.
But Bakhodir, who only gave his first name, never heard from her again after he transferred the money. Despite appeals to the Czech police and the Czech Embassy in Uzbekistan, he is still no closer to recovering the roughly 1,000 euros ($1,100) he sent.
Doston Mustafoyev, another Uzbek, said he lost $20,000 after being scammed by two men. One of them, he said, was a distant relative who promised him a work visa and employment in the United States.
He met the men in the Uzbek city of Samarkand and handed them the money in cash. But he never saw the men -- or his money -- again.
“I had been working in Turkey, earning $700 to $800 per month. [They told me] I could earn in one year in America what I made in 10 years in Turkey,” Mustafoyev said.
