Russia does not welcome labor migrants from former Soviet states with open arms. Not only is Russia’s economic situation occupied with a multitude of problems of its own, but the attitude of the local population towards labor migrants creates infinite difficulties for them to secure living. The personal safety of migrants is hardly protected due to the lack of proper legislation that would set procedures of authorized registration for Tajik citizens. Every year, the number of deported, imprisoned and murdered Tajiks increases. In 2003, according to various sources, more than 600 died at the hands of criminals. Aggressions carried out by “Skinhead” movements is a frequent phenomenon.

The case of nine-year old Khursheda cruelly killed by a group of teenagers in St. Petersburg on February 9, 2004, aggravated anxiety among Tajiks at home and abroad about their fellow citizens. Tajik newspapers reported – in minute detail – the tragedy of a small girl who was beaten to death by a group of ten teenagers. Kursheda and two other family members were coming back home when they were surrounded and attacked by members of a neo-fascist movement. Her death has been a symbolic and, at the same time, awakening incident, which reminded the local public of the danger coming from criminal groups in Russia. Numerous letters from various parts of Tajikistan were sent to the Russian Ambassador to Tajikistan, with appeals to find ways to enhance the safety of migrants.

“Skinheads”, or “Britogolovye”, is another name for such movements, representing extreme violent forms of xenophobia. Foreigners, especially of non-European races, are threatened on the streets of Russia’s large cities. In St. Petersburg alone, twenty-two thousand young people between 16-22 years of age are members of informal groups propagating racist and nazi ideas. “We know that it is better to keep away when we see drunk teenagers dressed in short leather jackets and with bald heads”, says Tolip, a seasonal worker, who is about to head towards Astrakhan from Dushanbe’s train station. “But there is no other way out, I need to feed my family and there is no work at home”, replies another migrant.

90% of Tajiks working in Russia do not speak Russian. Tajik and other migrants from Central Asia and the Caucasus usually carry out the hardest work for the lowest payment. They comprise the cheapest labor market throughout southwestern territory of Russia. While leaving to Russia, many are not aware of possible threats from illegal groups of aggressive youngsters, nor are they informed about migrants’ legal rights.

“I have been living in Moscow for four years, but never visited the Red Square and the famous monument of a Tajik woman. Every walk in the city will cost me a hundred rubles in bribes to the police who check my registration documents”, says twenty-year old Muzaffar. Migrants encounter problems in legalizing of their stay in Russia, and only very few receive official registration. The Open Society Institute published a booklet with a list and explanation of migrants’ legal rights in Russia. The booklet is aimed at increasing legal awareness among migrants, and is distributed in trains, airports and in special kiosks in Dushanbe.

Although neo-fascist criminal formations are largely condemned in Russia and Kursheda’s death was not left out of public attention, legislation that could protect Tajik migrants’ safety remains underdeveloped for several years. Tajik experts from the governmental and NGO sectors see this problem as embedded in the deeper issue of Russia’s military presence in the country. Political, military and economic dependence on Russia does not allow the local people to set forward their own interests in bilateral relations with the region’s superpower.