Russia's Interior Ministry will send governors guidance on breaking up migrant enclaves

The government has already approved a document prepared on Dmitry Medvedev's instructions. Vladimir Kolokoltsev says police measures alone cannot solve the problem, which requires the involvement of regions and major employers.

Russia's Interior Ministry has prepared recommendations for regional governors on preventing the emergence of migrant enclaves and breaking up existing ones. Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev announced this on November 10 during a government hour in the Federation Council, Kommersant reports, citing TASS. The minister said the government had already approved the document and that it would be sent to the regions in the near future.

The recommendations were prepared on the instructions of Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev. Kommersant notes that in January, the Interior Ministry, the Federal Security Service and the Ministry of Economic Development were instructed to prepare proposals by July 1 on legislative measures to counter the formation of ethnic enclaves. On April 2, the issue was discussed by an interagency commission of the Security Council chaired by Medvedev.

Владимир Колокольцев в зале заседаний Совета Федерации 10 ноября

More than police measures

Kolokoltsev stressed that the issue could not be resolved solely through law-enforcement measures. He said regional authorities should play an important role, while particular attention should be paid to where and under what conditions major employers accommodate foreign workers. “But most importantly, everyone fully understands that allowing them to live in enclaves is completely unacceptable,” Metro quotes the minister as saying, citing Vedomosti.

The minister noted that the issue concerns not only foreign nationals but also migrants who have already obtained Russian citizenship, as well as their children. The Federation Council website says that preventing the emergence of ethnic enclaves in cities was among the issues senators raised with Kolokoltsev after his report.

Matviyenko: assimilation instead of closed neighborhoods

Federation Council Chairwoman Valentina Matviyenko supported the call for integrating foreigners. Referring to the experience of several countries that she did not name, the speaker said the idea of multiculturalism “had not taken root.” “People who live in our country must assimilate into our way of life, our culture and our traditions, rather than remain an enclave that lives separately and by its own rules,” TV Centre quotes her as saying.

Глава МВД выступает с трибуны перед сенаторами

Daily Storm writes that the approved concept of state migration policy expressly provides for countering the formation of ethnic enclaves and the territorial isolation of migrants. The outlet assesses that the authorities are now proposing a shift from monitoring individual migrants to managing their settlement and social adaptation.

Photo: Federation Council press service (council.gov.ru, CC BY 4.0)

Russia's Interior Ministry will send governors guidance on breaking up migrant enclaves