The Russian economy has become heavily dependent on migrant workers, largely from Central Asia. As the defence ministry tries to recruit them into the army, and certain extremists call for them to be sent home, the Kremlin is having to tread a fine line between economic pragmatism, nationalism and the immediate needs of the war.
The glittering new metro stations still being built and opened around Moscow are to a considerable extent built by migrant workers. Migrants also shovel the snow off roofs and pavements, pack boxes at the warehouses of Russia’s equivalents to Amazon and drive taxis. In all there are more than four million legal guest workers across the country, and possibly as many illegals.
They are, if anything, increasingly necessary as Russia’s economy faces a growing labour squeeze, thanks to the war effort and the consequent shift of the defence economy into full wartime mode, often running multiple shifts 24/7.
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