Foreign workers want to leave Russia as rouble declines

Up to one-third of labour migrants may leave Russia due to a decrease in income following the rouble’s depreciation against the US dollar and the euro.

According to a survey conducted among 22,800 representatives of the Uzbek diaspora in Moscow, 50 per cent of respondents are thinking of leaving Russia because of the rising dollar exchange rate, 25 per cent are not planning to do so, and 25 per cent are yet to decide on an answer, Vedomosti quotes the diaspora’s head Bakhrom Ismailov as saying.

Ismailov said foreigners' earnings in Russia are decreasing and becoming more comparable to those in their home country due to the rise in the dollar exchange rate.

Migrants working in the least paid spheres - retail, catering, cleaning, courier delivery, agriculture and others - will leave Russia first of all, he noted.

For his part, Abdullo Davlatov, chairman of the Union of Tajikistanis in Russia, noted that migrants also lose some of their earnings when transferring money to their native countries because of currency conversion.

According to him, the decision to leave is influenced by information campaigns in the media and social networks, which exaggeratedly cover law enforcement raids against migrants from Tajikistan.

Davlatov is convinced that there will not be a significant outflow in the near future, as not everyone has the opportunity to leave Russia.

However, other experts interviewed by the newspaper questioned such figures. Vadim Kozhenov, an expert on migration issues, noted that many migrants move to Russia for permanent residence. Due to the weakening of the rouble, the outflow of foreigners will not exceed 10 per cent, he said.

On August 14, the dollar on Mosbirzh went up to 101 roubles, the euro - 110 roubles. The fall of the rouble has accelerated since the beginning of August and amounted to about 7 per cent, which is more than in the whole of July. The Central Bank says it sees no threat to financial stability due to the ruble exchange rate. However, it will hold an unscheduled meeting today, at which it is expected to raise the key rate.