President Putin: Russians’ interests more important than influx of migrants

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that it is necessary to attract migrant workers in some sectors to develop the country's economy.

“The interests of Russians are more important than the influx of migrants. The number of migrants should be increased carefully to prevent the emergence of ghettos in Russia. The new technologies are an alternative to migration,” the president said at a plenary meeting within the Eastern Economic Forum.

“In general, there are few migrant workers in the labour market - 3.7 per cent of the total number of workers. There are about 12 million workers. Therefore, this is a very sensitive issue, related to the economy, social sphere and the moral state of society,” the Russian leader noted.

Session moderator Ilya Doronov noted that entire areas of migrants are being created in some foreign countries, even the police cannot enter there.

“We must keep this in mind to prevent such developments in our country; this is a very sensitive moment in Russia,” the president noted.

President Putin said that the situation in Russia is much easier than in European countries or the US.

He noted that the majority of migrants coming to Russia are citizens of countries that were previously republics of the USSR, it is easy to cooperate with them.

“It is very important not to have irritation as a result of this migration influx, and this is the most important thing; first of all, we must think about the interests of the Russian citizens,” President Putin added.

The president also noted that if new technologies are introduced in Russia, then a big influx of migrants will not be required.

“There is another way - it is both simple and complex at the same time. The simplicity is that we may not need such a big influx of migrants if we introduce new technologies that do not require numerous workers,” the Russian leader said.

Some changes occurred in the first quarter of 2023. More people from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan apply for Russian citizenship. However, natives of Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Georgia rarely apply for Russian citizenship, Kommersant reports.