On 22 March, a shooting occurred in the Crocus City Hall concert hall near Moscow before a concert by the Picnic group. Several people in camouflage uniforms opened fire from machine guns. Then an explosion occurred and a strong fire started. According to official data, 145 people were killed. Russian President Vladimir Putin made a televised address in which he called the incident a terrorist attack and declared 24 March a day of mourning. After this, police raids on migrants from Central Asia intensified in Russia, including in the Volga region. “Idel.Realities” tells the details.
On 23 March, the Russian FSB reported that 11 people were detained in connection with the terrorist attack, including four suspected of direct involvement in it. The arrest took place in the Bryansk region. They were brought to court to select a preventive measure with traces of beatings, one of them in a semi-conscious state in a wheelchair.
A video has circulated on the Internet showing one of the detainees having his ear cut off. Another detainee, Shamsidin Fariduni, was tortured with electric shock. In the criminal case of the terrorist attack in Crocus, 14 people have already been arrested; investigators consider four citizens of Tajikistan – Dalerjon Mirzoev, Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, Shamsidin Fariduni, Muhammadsobir Fayzov – to be the direct perpetrators of the armed attack.
On 16 May, the arrest of the suspects was extended until 22 August. One of the accused, Muhammadsobir Fayzov, was again brought to court in a wheelchair, unconscious. Ten more arrested – Dilovar Islomov, Aminchon Islomov, Isroil Islomov, Alisher Kasimov, Nazrimad Lutfulloi, Yakubjoni Yusufzoda, Muhammad Zoir Shariphod, Alisher Kosimov, Dzhumakhon Kurbonov and a man named Ashurov, who, according to investigators, fictitiously registered the Islomov brothers – are accused of aiding and abetting terrorists. On 15 May, the court extended the arrest of four more accused until 22 August: Nazrimada Lutfulloi, Jumakhon Kurbonov, Yakubjoni Yusufzoda and Muhammad Sharipzoda.
One of the detainees, a native of Chechnya, Askhab Uspanov, died in the police department in Moscow. The Chechen opposition Telegram channel 1ADAT claimed that Uspanov had broken ribs and spine, and there were signs of strangulation and bruises on his body. Nine more people were detained directly in Tajikistan on suspicion of involvement in the terrorist attack. At the same time, appointed lawyers defending those accused of attacking Crocus City Hall faced death threats against themselves and family members.
According to the FSB, after the terrorist attack, the suspects planned to cross the border into Ukraine, where they “had relevant contacts.” The Islamic State terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack. In one of their messages, they wrote that the terrorist attack in Moscow occurred in the context of a “raging war” between the Islamic State and countries fighting Islam. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin, during his second address, on 25 March, announced Ukraine’s involvement.
— The United States, through various channels, is trying to convince everyone that there is supposedly no Kyiv trace in the bloody terrorist attack at Crocus, that it is the banned ISIS, and there is supposedly no Kyiv trace in what happened. The terrorist attack in Crocus may be a link in a series of attempts by those who have been fighting the Russian Federation since 2014 at the hands of the Kyiv regime. And the Nazis never hesitated to use the dirtiest methods. Especially now that the counteroffensive has failed. [The attack] fits quite logically into the intimidation campaigns Kyiv is carrying out,” Putin said.
REACTION OF THE AUTHORITIES
After the terrorist attack in Crocus, several government officials called for the return of the death penalty in Russia. Among them are the leader of the LDPR and former presidential candidate Leonid Slutsky, ex-president Dmitry Medvedev, leader of the A Just Russia party Sergei Mironov and others. The head of the United Russia faction in the State Duma, Vladimir Vasiliev, said that the topic of the death penalty will be “deeply and meaningfully studied” and a “decision will be made that is in line with the mood and expectations of society.”
However, the head of the Russian Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation, Andrei Klishas, responded that the Russian State Duma and Federation Council “cannot overcome the decisions of the Constitutional Court” on the death penalty. Discussions by officials and government officials about the possibility of returning the death penalty worried Russians in the first quarter of 2024. These conclusions were made by the communications agency CROS based on an analysis of topics discussed in the media and on social networks.
Almost immediately after the terrorist attack, the Russian State Duma proposed tightening entry and deportation criteria for migrants. This was stated by a member of the Russian State Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption Mikhail Sheremet.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have time today to figure out what people’s intentions are when they enter, since all efforts and means are aimed at protecting our borders. Therefore, I believe that during the special operation, migrants should exclude travelling to Russia,” the deputy said.
The authorities also proposed changing the procedure for inviting foreign citizens to work. Thus, the State Council of Tatarstan has developed a project to issue licenses for recruitment agencies engaged in employing foreigners in Russia. According to the initiative, by 1 January 2026, legal entities and individual entrepreneurs who employ foreigners will have to obtain a license or stop employing them. The State Council of the Republic of Tajikistan proposed fines for the lack of a licence. However, the project was not approved by the Council of Legislators of the Russian Federation. The relevant commission of the council considered that the initiative requires improvement – and only then will the deputies of the republic be able to submit it to the State Duma.
In early April, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs completed work on a bill that proposes limiting the period foreigners stay in the country without a visa to 90 days a year and obliging them to submit biometric data. The Ministry of Internal Affairs proposed creating digital profiles of foreigners, and a register of employers and foreign workers. In addition, citizens of foreign countries were offered to issue a single document proving their identity. According to the bill, not only courts but also executive authorities will be able to expel foreign citizens from Russia. According to the representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Irina Volk, the introduced bill will allow the use of measures related to “limiting certain rights” of foreigners and “imposing additional responsibilities on them.” The State Duma has not yet considered the prepared bill.
In addition, the authorities have tightened control over the procedure for passing the Russian language exam for migrants. Thus, from 1 May of this year, commercial companies will no longer be able to participate in conducting exams and issuing these documents to foreigners. Universities are instructed to inform the Ministry of Internal Affairs about violations.
FOREIGN REACTION
Almost immediately after the terrorist attack – on March 25 – Kyrgyzstan recommended that its citizens not travel to Russia unless necessary. According to the Deputy Head of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bakyt Kadyrov, after the attack on Crocus City Hall, Russian special services strengthened counter-terrorism measures and tightened border checks.
The Tajik diaspora in Russia strongly advised citizens of this country to exercise caution, fearing an increase in xenophobic crimes. The heads of Tajik communities called on their fellow citizens not to attend mass events and not to leave home in the evenings. The country’s Foreign Ministry condemned the torture of terrorist attack suspects.
— Demonstration in the open information space of footage of the detention of alleged perpetrators of a terrorist act with the use of torture in the form of bodily mutilation is unacceptable. The price of recognition obtained in this way is well known to everyone,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Mukhriddin.
Checks at the borders with Russia have also become stricter. At the end of April, the Tajik Foreign Ministry announced the illegal detention of more than a thousand citizens of the country at Moscow airports. According to the department, all were kept in inadequate sanitary conditions and were not provided with hot meals. Among those detained at the airport were students who were studying in Russia under educational quotas from the Russian government. During a meeting with the Russian Ambassador to Tajikistan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan announced the “massive nature” that unfounded refusals of entry into Russia for citizens of Tajikistan have acquired, and that a “negative perception towards citizens of Tajikistan and Tajiks” is being formed in Russia.
Following Russia, the authorities of Kazakhstan have also intensified checks, detentions and deportations of migrants from Central Asian countries. In response, the Tajik Foreign Ministry warned citizens of the country travelling to Kazakhstan that they must have all permits with them. The department explained this by the Kazakh authorities introducing enhanced security measures at the country’s international airports.
MASS RAIDS IN THE VOLGA REGION AND MILITARY REGISTRATION
If returning the death penalty was only discussed at the state level, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation moved on to specific actions. Thus, after the terrorist attack, police officers intensified checks of foreign citizens in Russian regions. Already on 10 April, the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced the deportation of more than 800 illegal migrants after a large-scale raid in Moscow. During the raid, over six thousand violations of migration legislation were identified, and 192 criminal cases were initiated.
Raids also took place in the Volga regions. Thus, in Bashkortostan in April of this year, an active search for illegal migrants was planned for months in advance. In Ufa, police checked local markets and shopping complexes. Those who were found were taken to the military registration and enlistment offices by employees of the Russian Guard. During the raid in Ufa, 370 foreign citizens were checked, of which 105 were brought in to establish their identity and legality of stay on Russian territory. 27 people were expected to be deported from Russia for violating the stay regime.
After raids were carried out in the places where migrants were staying, those who already had Russian citizenship were put on military registration. Thus, since the beginning of this year, over 138 foreign citizens have been registered with the military in Bashkortostan. Police officers along with military commissariat employees were looking for migrants. Those migrants who did not have Russian citizenship were told about the possibility of obtaining it by concluding a contract with the Ministry of Defence.
— 12 foreign citizens aged from 18 to 30 years were identified, some of whom received Russian citizenship, and therefore they were issued a summons for military registration at the military commissariat. The requirements for obtaining citizenship in our country were explained to the remaining citizens, registering for military service at the military commissariat at their place of residence, and the possibility of obtaining citizenship by concluding a contract with the Russian Defence Ministry. The investigative department of the Russian Investigative Committee for the Ufa garrison reported then.
The raid, which took place in the Samara region on 29 March, involved not only police officers but also employees of the Russian Guard. Security forces checked 2,080 objects. 128 illegally staying on Russian territory were identified. According to police, the courts decided to deport 105 people. In early May, a raid took place at one of the enterprises. 15 foreign citizens were found working without appropriate permits in food production. On 13 May, a joint raid by police and vigilantes took place on Samara’s 50th Anniversary of the October Revolution Park and the surrounding area. In one of the cafes, police discovered 12 violations of migration legislation by foreign citizens.
As of 9 April, Tatarstan bailiffs have expelled 589 migrants since the beginning of this year. The raids were carried out, among others, by employees of the Centre for Combatting Extremism and the Migration Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic, together with soldiers of the Russian Guard. Raids also took place at facilities under construction on the embankment of the Kazanka River. On 19 April, during a raid at a construction site, 152 foreign citizens were found to have violations of migration laws.
As of 16 April this year, 566 raids took place in Tatarstan. Last year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs carried out 2.8 thousand inspections, and since the beginning of this year the number of inspections, according to the source of the BUSINESS Online publication, has already exceeded 2.5 thousand. At the same time, the Ministry of Construction of Tatarstan admits that every fifth person working on construction sites in the republic is a foreigner. The main flow of migrants to construction sites comes from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan. The head of the government of Tatarstan, Alexey Pesoshin, stated that “now we are not able to solve the personnel issue without migrants.”
At the end of April, raids took place on the territory of Tatarstan and Chuvashia. There were searches for migrants at large construction sites in the Sovetsky, Vakhitovsky and Privolzhsky districts of Kazan, as well as in Cheboksary and Novocheboksarsk. As a result, 57 migrants, who recently received Russian citizenship were registered with the military commissariats of Tatarstan and Chuvashia.
At the beginning of May, a similar raid took place in the Perm Territory. Inspections were carried out in shopping centres and construction sites. During the raid, 9 foreigners with Russian citizenship were registered with the military.
In Astrakhan in April, the search for migrants took place in hotels. As a result, 32 administrative protocols were drawn up for violation of migration legislation.
WAVE OF XENOPHOBIA
In April, VTsIOM published data from a closed survey on attitudes towards migrants. More than 2.5 thousand people took part in it. After the terrorist attack, 55-60% of respondents had a “rather negative” attitude towards labour migrants, while 30% had a positive attitude. Compared to VTsIOM data in August last year, the share of negatively-minded Russians increased by one and a half times. At the same time, half of the respondents admitted that their attitude towards migrant workers was influenced by the terrorist attack.
Several incidents of xenophobia were reported following the attack. Thus, in April of this year, a Kyrgyzstani woman was attacked by a man in Moscow. He beat her and demanded that the migrants “get out of Russia.” In the Novosibirsk region, several residents from the “Russian People’s Squad” conducted a raid under the slogan “In the village, you can wear a hijab, in Russia – not!”, demanding the dismissal of employees wearing hijab. They demanded that an employee of one of the pharmacies in Novosibirsk take off her headscarf, calling it a “hijab.” In St. Petersburg, two schoolchildren beat a classmate – a citizen of Tajikistan – in front of the teacher, who did not even try to separate the children. The video was accompanied by xenophobic comments “Russia for Russians.” In the Moscow metro, ultra-rightists surrounded a resident of Yakutia shouting “Russia for Russians.” According to the SOVA research centre, in March 2024, 16 hate-motivated attacks were reported.
Demands to limit the rights of migrants also appeared on social networks. In early April, Samara nationalists from the Northern Man organization, together with other nationalist associations, recorded a video message to Vladimir Putin, the State Duma, the government and representatives of law enforcement agencies. They demanded that Russia’s migration policy be revised towards greater closedness and tightened restrictions. In particular, nationalists proposed limiting the import of families of foreign citizens, introducing mandatory work visas, and issuing citizenship only for “special merits.”
In some regions, restrictions on migrants have already begun to be introduced at the local level. Thus, in the Kursk region, migrants were prohibited from working as taxi drivers. A similar ban was also introduced in the Saratov region. The decree was signed by the regional governor Roman Busargin The document prohibited migrants from 1 May to 31 December 2024 from working in the field of transporting passengers in urban and suburban transport, in passenger taxis and rented cars, and the provision of food and drinks.
Natives of Central Asia told Current Time that many migrants are leaving regions where similar work restrictions have been introduced. At the same time, at the end of last year, the Yandex.Taxi service reported that it lacks about 80 thousand drivers. The company named the decrease in the number of migrants as one of the reasons for the staff shortage since many left during the coronavirus pandemic and did not return. Many left after the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine and the sharp fall in the ruble exchange rate. Taking into account the new restrictions on the work of migrants, the labor shortage in Russia may become even greater.
After the terrorist attack in Crocus, the number of complaints from migrants about harassment increased significantly. This was reported by “Verstka” regarding human rights activist Valentina Chupik. She received more than 8.5 thousand complaints about beatings, illegal detentions and expulsions from the territory of Russia, and detention in inhumane conditions in departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and special detention centres. According to her, before the terrorist attack, she received two or three requests a week about illegal expulsion or falsification of non-existent migration violations. The majority of complaints came from citizens of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
“I haven’t slept for five nights,” Valentina Chupik told Current Time in March. — I have about a thousand requests a day. Of these, approximately 700 are related to arrests. I now have approximately 3.5 thousand requests from detainees. About 150 are related to police beating migrants. This mostly happens during arrests. Administrative offences are falsified against the majority of migrants: disobedience to the demands of police officers concerning those people who were beaten, to put them in jail for a day, or migration violations, to deport them through a special detention center.
According to human rights activists, xenophobic sentiments are growing in society at the instigation of the authorities:
“We see many statements by Russian officials and so-called law enforcement agencies that incite migrant phobia out of nowhere. Their goal is to divert people’s attention from the real problem, to divert attention from the fact that the terrorist attack was at least ignored, and, perhaps, deliberately allowed. The goal is to shift aggression from the authorities to an obviously weak group that is “easy to defeat” and which is clearly alien. And the opportunity to rob with impunity.
Representatives of the peoples of the Volga region talk about whether they feel racism towards them after the terrorist attack
However, a wave of xenophobia also covered the residents of Russia themselves. In an interview with Idel.Realii, representatives of the people of the Volga region told how migrant phobia, which resulted in xenophobia, also affected them. Thus, a Tatar woman from Kazan said, “Even among her friends she hears that legislation needs to be tightened so that there are fewer migrants.” A Tatar from Izhevsk spoke about statements made against “ethnic” or “cultural” Muslims:
“My colleagues started making jokes about pork and terrorist attacks. The bottle of water that I carry with me to the toilet (sorry for the details – this is Islamic toilet etiquette) was jokingly called by my colleagues the first step to terrorism.”
Idel.Реалии
