By Murad Rakhimov | 2026-02-03

The raid lasted only minutes. Its consequences spread far beyond Russia's Far East.

In December, an Uzbek man was beaten by Russian security officers during a raid in the region. He fell into a coma and later died. The case has since drawn in governments on both sides of the border, prompting a formal diplomatic protest from Tashkent and renewed scrutiny of Russia's treatment of migrant workers, as ultranationalist sentiment has intensified during the prolonged war in Ukraine.

Uzbekistan's Foreign Ministry said the Uzbek Consulate General in Vladivostok sent official appeals to the Khabarovsk regional prosecutor's office, investigative bodies and Russia's Foreign Ministry, calling for a full investigation into the incident.

The death has also fueled debate inside Uzbekistan about the safety of working in Russia. In January, Alisher Kadirov, leader of the Milliy Tiklanish (National Revival) party and a member of parliament, urged Uzbek migrant workers to return home.

"Think with your heads, leave Russia as soon as possible. No income is worth the tears of your parents and children," Kadirov said, as quoted by Gazeta.

Deadly raid

Members of a special operations unit burst into a café in the city of Khabarovsk on December 12. Officers beat several Uzbek nationals inside. One of the men slipped into a coma and later died. Russian authorities have not announced an official cause of death.

The Uzbek Foreign Ministry said consular staff were in contact with the man's relatives and were working to repatriate his body.

On the day of the raid, security forces also detained about 80 drivers, all Kyrgyz nationals. One detainee told journalists he was beaten until morning but denied hospital treatment because he lacked documents. He reported a broken rib and bruises covering his body.

He said detainees were taken in groups to rooms where three masked men beat them with clubs. Some were forced to chew migration documents and wash them down with water. About 20 Uzbek nationals later reported similar treatment to journalists.

A Khabarovsk television report said officers checked more than 300 people -- mostly Uzbek and Tajik nationals -- during the raid. Those without documents or who had failed to register for military service after receiving Russian citizenship were taken to a separate location, where draft officials were present. One investigator said 15 people were in Russia unlawfully and about 30 had missed military registration deadlines.

'You're a slave'

Attacks on migrants from Central Asia have become increasingly common across Russia.

In June, Interior Ministry officers carried out what eyewitnesses described as a "brutal" raid on a migrant dormitory in Moscow. Video recordings showed officers forcing men from their rooms, kicking them and striking them to make them move faster, while shouting insults. Uzbekistan's Migration Agency later urged citizens whose rights had been violated to contact its Moscow office.

In August, a video filmed in Khimki, near Moscow, showed a man berating a taxi driver. "You're a slave, a slave to the Russians!" he shouted. "You didn't find anything for yourself in Uzbekistan. You came to our country. . . . Keep your mouth shut. This isn't your home." Witnesses said the dispute began after the taxi briefly blocked a narrow driveway while waiting for a garbage truck to pass.

Deadly violence involving children has deepened concerns.

In April 2025, a teenager stabbed to death a 9-year-old boy from Kyrgyzstan in Moscow Region. And in December, a 10-year-old boy from a Tajik family, Qobiljon Aliyev, was stabbed to death at a school near Moscow. The attacker reportedly questioned children about their nationality. Meduza noted that Russian authorities stopped short of calling the killing a hate crime.

The Sova Center, which monitors xenophobia, reported a surge in hate crimes since 2023. Many attacks involved groups "composed mainly of very young people." In 2024, most perpetrators of hate-motivated violence were teenagers aged 13 to 14.

Alisher Ilkhamov, director of the London-based Central Asia Due Diligence organization, said the rise in ultranationalist violence reflects a permissive political climate.

"In Russia the authorities don't put any restrictions on this sentiment. They think it's better to let the population take its dissatisfaction with the socioeconomic situation out on migrants than on the government," Ilkhamov told Kontur. "This is a policy of redirecting the frustration of the masses at targets that the authorities consider to be convenient."

Anvar Nazirov, a Tashkent-based political analyst, said the Kremlin is using propaganda to channel public anger toward migrants and minorities.

"This is a long-standing practice," he told Kontur, describing it as a mix of state policy and public manipulation designed to suppress protest sentiment.

'Get out of there'

Parliamentarian Kadirov framed the issue as both a matter of personal safety and a shift in how migrant labor is perceived inside Russia. He said security agencies increasingly view Central Asians as potential participants in unrest, rather than as an essential workforce, a change he argued has altered the risks faced by migrants.

Online reaction to his call for migrant workers to leave Russia was swift and emotional. Commenters described the country as dangerous for migrants and criticized what they saw as official indifference. Others said large-scale returns were unrealistic without sufficient jobs and wages in Uzbekistan.

Russia remains the main destination for Uzbek labor migrants. While no precise data exist, Valery Fadeyev, head of Russia's Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, said about 2 million Uzbek nationals were working in Russia as of October 2025.

Remittances remain vital to Uzbekistan's economy. The Central Bank reported that they totaled $17.3 billion in January–November 2025. In the first half of the year, Russia accounted for 78% of inflows, or about $6.4 billion.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said January 15 that placing Uzbek citizens in higher-paying jobs abroad would be a government priority, naming the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and several European and Middle Eastern countries as new destinations.

Nazirov said many Uzbeks are already leaving Russia. Lower earnings, pressure to enlist and fear of violence are driving the trend.

"They don't want to fight in the war," he said, adding that returnees are unlikely to overwhelm Uzbekistan's labor market.

Sunnat, 37, who spent 10 years working in Moscow, said police pressure intensified after 2024. Officers repeatedly demanded he sign a contract with the Defense Ministry.

"They would say, 'If you don't want to go yourself, find someone to take your place,'" he told Kontur. "When I refused they would threaten me, saying, 'We're going to plant drugs on you now. Then you'll agree in no time.'"

Forced to return home in October, Sunnat now runs a small shop in southern Uzbekistan.

"I say to all my friends who stayed in Moscow, 'Hurry up and get out of there if you don’t want to return in a casket,'" Sunnat said.