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"traditional Islam" and religious - in the form of "pure Islam". The diversity of these intentions' development results first in different self-identification and emergence of a conflict in consciousness of Muslims and further in tension caused by clashes of opposite actions, taken by dominant Islamic groups. The stress made on ethnicity leads to further stratification of Turkic and Caucasian peoples, to their aspiration for installment of numerous inter-ethic borders, to attempted separation of one from the other. The growth of religious influence promotes overcoming the inter-ethnic borders, uniting Turkic-Caucasian ethnic groups in a national-state super-ethnos. The way of "pure Islamic religiousness", liquidating inter-ethnic contradictions and urging towards maximum elimination of external borders, actually became the start of an offensive against territorial and historic positions of Slavonic-Orthodox and Western-Christian worlds, which raises a conflict at the global scale.
"Aktualnye voprosypoliticheskoi nauki", Saratov, 2010, p. 66-82.
L. Birchanskaya,
Institute of Oriental Studies of the RAS
IMMIGRATION TO MOSCOW: NEW REALITY
For the 1990s, after disintegration of the Soviet Union, the process of mass resettlement of people started from some regions to other regions with more favorable living conditions. Having comprehended the scale of social changes in Russia, inherent in its contemporary economic growth, a great number of people from former Soviet republics with lower level of living decided to change the place of residence. The flow of immigration to Russia attained its maximum
in 1994. According to Russian officials, today from 1.5 to 15 million people as labor migrants stay in Russia. The size of unofficial immigrants makes 4-4.2 million people. These numbers are most correct, to the experts' views.
As practice shows, the migrants occupy the jobs, which are not much in demand by Russian citizens due to low payment and hard working conditions. Even those of them, who get unemployment benefits, refuse to perform a not prestigious work. However, economy needs the people, who are ready to clean streets, to build roads, to wash wards in hospitals. It should be noted that even under conditions of high level of unemployment in the countries-leaders of contemporary economic growth the high deficit of work force remains in light industry, in metallurgy, health care, transport, in restaurant business. At the same time, since the year of 2000 up to present, the countries, like Germany, Japan, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Greece experience reduction of the number of the working people. There are many working places in Russia, where it is difficult and sometimes impossible to hire Russian citizens. The situation in the Moscow labor market, particularly in the construction complex and in public transport, proves it quite clearly.
In contemporary Russia, the attraction of the non-qualified foreign labor force is an old and painful problem, used by non-conscientious politicians to provoke xenophobia of the population and to put the blame on aliens for the difficulties and problems of the country.
The notion "migrant worker", used in international legal documents, lacks in the Russian legislation. Even the notion, such as "labor migration", is not determined in the legislation of the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, if it is possible to reduce the traditional time lag of Russia from big European countries (approximately for two generations), the number of jobs will inevitably rise. It means that the
import of foreign labor force will become more significant for national economic development.
Moscow and the Moscow region stand out in terms of the large scale of attracted foreign labor force against a background of subjects of the Russian Federation. In 2006, the number of migrant workers in Moscow accounted for 35% of the quantity of migrant workers. It is connected with development of the biggest investment in economy of the region. It is supposed that up to 90% of economic migrants in Moscow work illegally. The question is that they confront big complications in their aspirations for getting permit to get job and find housing, which force them to be in the shadow sector, depriving the state of tax payments. The corrupted officials extort money from them.
In 2007, the share of the eight states (out of 27 states), whose citizens enter the Russian labor market, accounted for 80% of migrants. They are as follows: China - 15.5%, Ukraine - 12%, Uzbekistan -17%, Turkey - 9%, Tajikistan - 13%, Kirghizstan - 5%, Moldova -5%, Vietnam - 5%. Naturally, a great part of immigrants settle in Moscow. It should be added that the amount of remittances, sent home, is estimated in 5-7 % of the GNP of Armenia, Georgia and Tajikistan, over 20% of the GNP of Moldova. The money transfers are comparable with the annual budgets of these countries, while in some cases -Kirghizstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan - they surpass them.
The growing demand for the unqualified labor force in Russia, on the one side, and the mass readiness of poor countries to satisfy this demand, on the other side, result in rise of the number of immigrants in the composition of the population in Russia. It is impossible to stop this process, while the administrative barriers in the way of migration processes are ineffective. The mutual support within ethnic communities and a chance to enter the country as a tourist allow a person to overcome any barriers. At the same time, migrants are ready
to endure hardships and humiliations in order to earn money. The migrants' flow is polarized into two distant strata: "the owners" and "the proletarians". The numerous facts give evidence of existence of discrimination and exploitation within and among groups.
Most immigrants come for a certain time to earn money. Those, who wish to settle in Moscow, make the final decision 5-7 years later. This fact is characteristic for migration processes in all host communities of the West. It should be mentioned that the migrants, coming to the capital with intention to settle there and to bring their families, possess a much higher integration potential than their compatriots, for whom Moscow is the place for getting money. The first ones will eagerly regard themselves as Muscovites. For example, the Azerbaijanis, settled in the Russian capital, react painfully, if they are identified with "persons of the Caucasian nationality".
The notion "Muscovite" latently is connected with the notion "Russian, i.e. in Moscow, like in Russia as a whole, the ethnic and not the civil identity prevails. Thus, the newly proposed term - "person of the Caucasian nationality" appeared. The image of migrant workers, coming for a short time, i.e. the less integrated segment of another ethnicity, gives an opportunity for the ingrained stereotype of "a person of Caucasian (Asian) nationality", actually the image of an aggressive alien. It is not surprising that this stereotype is transferred to all groups, which differ from the main mass of the urban population in terms of anthropology and culture, including indigenous Russians and representatives of ethnic Diaspora, living in Moscow for many centuries.
Thus, the Azerbaijanis - migrants of the last post-Soviet wave, if they wish to settle in Moscow, should comprehend that they are primarily Caucasians. This is for them the sole niche in the urban social environment. It seems that this reality hinders integration of migrants in
the big city, besides, just those, who want to become "indigenous residents". The temporary migrant workers do not always reckon with "the Russian foundation" of Moscow and with the need "to live like all".
Russia is marked by low population density, and the long-term trends to reduction of labor force and to the population's aging are evident in the country. The share of Russia in the population of the world will be rather greatly reduced by 2050, the experts made prognoses. In this respect, the situation in Russia will not differ from the situation in most countries of the Western Europe, where the number of the population will decrease for the present century. When the age structure of the population in Russia will change due to the rapid rise of the share of senior age groups, society will confront the need to restructure the pension system. The sustainability of this system will depend on the number of immigrants, whom it would be possible to include in the labor force and to achieve their social adaptation. A great inflow of legal immigrants will make it possible to accelerate the economic growth of Russia. At the same time, comparing with other countries, which carry out an efficient immigration policy, Russia has a significant advantage: it is encircled by the countries with a much lower level of living than in Russia, by the countries, where there live millions of ethnic Russians and dozens of millions Russian speaking people, integrated in Russian culture.
The unique present migration in Russia is characterized not only by its scale but also by the fact that 7% of able to work people consists of illegal migrant workers. This quantity is comparable with the share of legal migrant workers in Sweden (4.6%) and France (6.2%). The unique feature of this situation is as follows: the migrants not only provide Russia to a certain degree as a whole and Moscow, in particular, with labor force, they introduced their own world into the
Russian environment: the other culture, language, way of life, manners of behavior, other perceptions on the must and the admissible. Most Muscovites experience the sense of alert and fear; the migration situation represents for them "invasion" and "expansion" of aliens. Therefore Ukrainian "Gastarbaiters", who have the same anthropology, live in all suburbs of Moscow. Byelorussians are let to live in the districts with good reputation.
Azerbaijanis, Georgians and Armenians live in compact settlements in distant suburbs, for evident reasons. As a whole, the contrast settlement is characteristic for migrants from the Caucasus. The greater part of Armenians is settled in the center, particularly in the districts with a higher share of the Moscow Armenian Diaspora. The less well-to-do citizens of Armenia rent housing in Chertanovo, Tekstilshchiki, Kuzminki, Lyublino, Tsaritsino. Migrants from the Central Asia live mainly in the southern and in the northern suburbs of Moscow. The relatively cheap compartments and level of living in the districts near the ring road are approximately equal irrespective of the geographic situation.
Many myths have been created relating to immigration. One of them is as follows: immigration is a contemporary measure. The immigrants treated it in this way, according to some researches. They left for Russia to save money and to come back. But the facts show that it is an illusion. Usually the family comes and joins the breadwinner to stay in a new place. The other illusion is - the masculine part of the population is the source of immigrants. This problem needs additional study. Migration from Tajikistan is characterized by a small share of women (15%). It should be said that labor migration from the Central Asia has not been yet studied, particularly in terms of its gender structure.
The traditional system of distribution of the gender roles among family members in the CA countries determines the role of the breadwinner for the man. Women perform the reproductive function and are in charge of housekeeping. This distribution of roles was rigidly fixed for many centuries by norms of Islam, inter alia. The post-Soviet stage of regional development engendered two opposite processes. The consolidation of traditionalism in the rural districts coincided with the large scaled social and economic processes in the region as a whole, and the mass outflow abroad of able-bodied males started with the aim of earning money in foreign countries. Tajik women joined the emigration flow. Evidently, this phenomenon was strange for the Central Asia, but it was logical for the development of migration processes on the eve of the XXI century: since the 1990s, feminization of migrant flows became a characteristic feature of the contemporary stage of labor migration.
What are the Tajik women, who have to earn for life in Moscow? As a rule they are married women at the age over 40 years, whose families, including husbands, stay at home in the motherland. There are among them widows or women with sick husbands or husbands earning not more than 1000 rubles per month. They have high school education or rarely high school special education. Sometimes they are teachers of secondary school or nurses. They speak poor Russian, since even in Soviet times most Tajik women did not leave their villages (kishlaks). Since labor emigration from Tajikistan is a rather known process, women go to the places, where work their compatriots, i.e. do as people do in the whole world - apply not to the Diaspora in order to get job but use informal immigration networks.
They borrow money for the journey. Having arrived to Moscow, they work at the market every day without free days and get $100 per month. Tajik or Uzbek women do not make "carrier" in Moscow, since
their field of activities is very restricted. Their compatriots-migrants work as laborers and loaders in the markets, construction workers with hard work and as street cleaners. They become servants in fast food restaurants and sellers of dry fruits. Some of them find jobs in business and in criminal structures (in the system of narcotics trade).
With good reason one may say that the female immigration from the Central Asia will acquire a more extensive scale. The complicated economic situation in the CA countries, the rise of unemployment and destitution of the population makes their citizens ignore the traditional factors. As a result, the money earned by migrant workers gradually changes the image of Tajik rural scenery. White cars may be seen on the rough road. The people started to improve their housing conditions and to repair with common money the disintegrating infrastructure.
The immigration capacity to Russia from the CIS countries is estimated to be 7-8 million people for formation of the migration policy. For the next decade it will be enough, but in the future, according to experts, it would be necessary to elaborate the policy aimed at attraction of migrant workers from the countries outside the CIS.
The opened channels for legal labor migration, ensuring the right of newcomers to live legally and to work in Russia, to have access to social benefits and after a certain period of time to get Russian citizenship - all this, as was said, is significant for the perspectives of development of Russia. As far as the state ideology is concerned, it should be said that openness of Russian society, its ability to integrate non-Russian elements for many centuries were the specific features of Russian traditions, allowing to include non-Slavonic peoples in the structure of this society. Just this community, where immigrants will be integrated in its structure by Russian language and Russian culture, will
provide Russia of the new century with additional chances, which Russia will use with success.
"Vostok: vyzovy XXI veka", M, 2010, p. 247-251.
Sergey Slutsky,
political scientist
THE TERRORIST UNDERGROUND IN INGUSHETIA
The terrorist underground finally was formed in Ingushetia for the beginning of the XXI century. Although Ingushetia was subject to significant ordeal for the 1990s, terrorism in the forms characteristic for the contemporary North Caucasus actually was absent within the limits of the republic itself. At the same time, the destabilizing impact of the adjacent separatist Chechnya as a mighty hotbed of tension should have been felt in all main spheres of social life in Ingushetia. For the beginning of the 1990s, there occurred the peak of the Ossetian-Ingushi opposition - the central conflict, which to a large extent determined the social-political life of the Ingushi Republic and the main zones of conflicting capacity.
Thus, the first post-Soviet decade may be relatively defined as a "pro-native" period in development of the republican underground, like the underground in Dagestan. However, the rigid territorial conflict with North Ossetia-Alania pre-determined the essential specificity of the Ingushi variant of formation of the terrorist complex. The situation in the social-economic spheres of both republics differs greatly.
The economic potential of Ingushetia originally was rather insignificant. Within the Soviet Checheno-Ingushetia (not at all the advanced regions of the national economy) the "Ingushi" districts
