By Murad Rakhimov | 2025-02-25

TASHKENT -- Moscow is giving migrants who are in Russia illegally a way to escape mandatory deportation by April 30 -- by signing a service contract with the Ministry of Defense.

Those who sign a contract with the ministry are almost certain to be sent to the frontlines in Ukraine, observer say.

'Expulsion regime'

Tighter controls over migrants came into effect on February 5, after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the corresponding law last August.

The new immigration rules are being called an "expulsion regime" because police now may deport illegal immigrants without a court order.

The new repressive measures will result in mass deportations of immigrants, even those in Russia legally, said Valentina Chupik, a human rights activist who lives in the United States.

"Extrajudicial expulsions violate the right to justice and restrict the right to freedom of movement," Chupik told Kontur. "This legislation also encourages crimes based on ethnic or religious hatred, and complete arbitrariness of police towards any migrant."

"The Russian police don't care now whether you have a work permit," said 43-year-old Bakhodir from Uzbekistan, who has lived in Nizhny Novgorod for eight years. "They still grab and deport you!"

"There aren't enough men for the 'special military operation' [the Kremlin's euphemism for the invasion of Ukraine], and that's why they're so vicious," he told Kontur. "Many migrants, even legal ones, are afraid to go outside. They are often beaten up in police stations."

'Deserving citizenship'

A video reportedly filmed at a construction site in Krasnodar territory caused a stir on social networks on December 10.

Bearing the caption "Deserving Citizenship," the video shows men in military camouflage uniforms with covered faces. One of them, clearly the commander, explains to a group of foreign-born construction workers in custody how to obtain a Russian passport:

"The process is very simple. To obtain Russian citizenship, you can sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense... The contract lasts one to five years. After the contract ends, you receive a Russian passport..."

All the detainees, approximately 40 men, stand in a line with their heads down.

The "commander" adds that if they sign the contract, they will not need any work permits, since 100% of them will be in the "special military operation."

The sales pitch continues.

After the contract ends, along with a Russian passport, they will allegedly receive the right to free treatment at a heath resort, life insurance and combat veteran status. Monthly wages start at 210,000 RUB (about €2,256).

"I think that's still more than you are earning here. Why are you shaking your heads? You know what I'm talking about? Is anybody interested? Raise your hands."

Seeing that nobody has accepted the offer, the "commander" tells the migrants, "To [your] motherland then! Yes, let's go home."

Laws against mercenaries

In addition to the risk of serious injury or death, third-country nationals who fight in Ukraine also face legal repercussions at home.

Take the case of T.A., a 39-year-old Uzbek sentenced to 4 years and 2 months in prison on December 4 by a court in Andijan city, Uzbekistan.

T.A. could have received a longer sentence, as the Uzbek criminal code mandates prison sentences of up to 10 years for mercenarism.

But the father of three had no criminal record, fully admitted his guilt and expressed remorse for his actions. His voluntary confession also played a role.

T.A. lived in Andijan province, but in April 2023 he went to Moscow to seek work, like thousands of his compatriots.

At first, he worked as a butcher in a grocery store. In June, while he was working at an oil stock exchange, a Russian invited him to sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense to go to war in Ukraine.

After two months of military training in Moscow, he fought in the Ukrainian cities of Shakhtarsk and Bakhmut, where, by his own admission, he killed more than 10 Ukrainian troops.

A promise of 450,000 RUB (about €4,830) per month proved bogus: at first he received two payments of 150,000 RUB (€1,629), but then the payments stopped.

On December 31, 2023, T.A. returned to his homeland via Kazakhstan.

In another example, the 3rd Operational Brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard on December 16 posted information about the capture of a Uzbek citizen on Telegram.

The 46-year-old joined the Russian army at a migration center in Moscow, where police had taken him.

The captured mercenary said he signed a contract to avoid a conviction and to make money. But he never received the promised 2.3 million RUB (€24,710), he said.

Because of that broken promise, once he found himself in a combat zone in Zaporizhzhia province, he tried to surrender to the Ukrainians as quickly as possible.

'Thousands' of Central Asians fighting in Ukraine

Since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, Ukrainian forces have captured about 30 citizens of Central Asian countries, Ukrainian Minister of Justice Olha Stefanishyna said in January, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

It is difficult to say how many citizens of Central Asian countries have fought or are fighting in Ukraine for Russia, said Alisher Ilkhamov, director of Central Asia Due Diligence, a think tank in London.

The man convicted in Andijan said he met other foreigners sent to war in Ukraine, including Tajik citizens.

"Based on indirect data, we can say that the number of men participating in the war who are from Uzbekistan and other republics in the region [Central Asia] is in the thousands," Ilkhamov told Kontur.

In the summer of 2024, Alexander Bastrykin, chairman of the Russian Investigative Committee, said that the Kremlin had sent 10,000 migrants who had recently received Russian citizenship to the front.

However, someone who receives foreign citizenship without renouncing Uzbek citizenship remains subject to Uzbek law.

On February 9, the Uzbek embassy in Moscow called on Uzbek citizens illegally residing in Russia to immediately legalize their status "in order to avoid negative consequences."