Abstract
Russia has become a large scale recipient of labour migrants from Central Asia. Unemployment and low wages in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have made people travel north to what used to be the centre of the former Soviet Union – a state entity that these now independent states, a little more than some 20 years ago, all belonged to. Currently, Russia is facing a demographical crisis with dramatic population decline especially among the working-age group of the population. As such, access to work force from abroad can rightly be seen as a resource for the Russian state. Due to a persistent visa-free regime entrance, Russia is easily accessible for citizens of all the three Central Asian states mentioned. The length of their stay, however, is limited, and there are procedures for prolonging it, as well as for obtaining the right to work in Russia. Although experts claim that there is a need for immigration, these views are not shared by Russian citizens in general. On the contrary, anti-migration sentiments are quite widespread, and there are people claiming that the presence of labour migrants are worsening the situation for the local population; when it comes to work access as well as wage levels. The large presence of migrants, however, confirms that there is a demand for the cheap labour that they provide. As such, the field of migration is for the state a mine field of contradictory interests.
This thesis investigates the Russian state's management of labour migration from Central Asia; the state's concrete regulations and their consequences. It acquaints the reader with recent law amendments in the sphere of migration as well as bringing in the perspective and experiences of other actors involved in the processes of migration management in Russia. The state, as it will become evident, is not at all that capable and fine-tuned in its migration management.