In June 2012, the President of the Russian Federation approved a document defining the long-term migration policy of Russia until 2025. The very fact of the development of the long-awaited concept suggests that statesmen have finally turned to face the long-growing problem, and the migration policy of the Russian Federation has interested the powers that be. After all, only according to official data provided by the FMS of Russia, more than ten million foreigners live and work in the federation. It is no secret that most of them entered the country illegally. And these are only official statistics. Many independent experts cite much higher numbers, and newspapers are full of headlines about the discontent of the indigenous population with the influx of migrant workers. So what is characterized by the state migration policy of the modern period?
First of all, in Russia there are two diametrically opposing opinions about the advisability of attracting labor from neighboring countries. On the one hand, the authorities have repeatedly voiced the idea that only by attracting labor migrants, through the use of cheaper, and more skilled labor, it is possible to maintain the state’s economic growth and the welfare of the population.
But in reality, migration policy is not so regulated that there is no need to talk about a massive influx of qualified personnel. Proceeding from this, a completely different opinion follows - about the occurrence of hidden unemployment due to the use of labor of migrants. The share of the low-income population is gradually growing, ready to work with an underestimated level of wages, if only to be able to find a job. Low-paid unskilled work performance cannot lead to an increase in labor productivity, and without it it is pointless to talk about economic growth.
The initiatives of Prime Minister Medvedev, who believes that migration policy should be tightened by increasing fines and introducing severe criminal liability for organizing illegal migration, are no longer preventive measures. The years of uncontrolled visa-free entry have created a kind of infrastructure in the field of migration law. The attracted migrant workers created their own debugged parallel world, with their branches of unspoken power. Meanwhile, the discontent of the indigenous population is growing everywhere, and it cannot be said that the claims expressed are unfair. A number of Russian regions are oversaturated with labor migrants, and a similar situation creates competition in the labor market and results in social tension. The existing migration policy does not solve the issues of tax payments, does not determine the procedure for medical support for visitors, does not provide a balance between migrants and local residents.
The principles and tasks laid down in the aforementioned concept are partly designed to solve a number of emerging issues. But all too often, ideas and initiatives that have been casually expressed in the upper echelons of power are perceived as an unquestioning guide to action and entail rash management decisions. Migration policy and the problems associated with it cannot be affected by decisions made at the level of emotions. A toughening of the degree of responsibility for illegal migration will not change in many respects the overall unfavorable picture.
Achievement of positive changes in the field of labor migration is possible only with an integrated approach to the awareness of ongoing processes and their gradual rectification. It remains to be hoped that this concept, as the first adopted document defining the priorities of the state migration policy, will not remain voiced only on paper and will eliminate the existing contradictions between the Russian population and visiting workers.