New approaches to international migration management in Russia in the early 2000s

Irina V. Ivakhniouk, Moscow State University
Ivan Aleshkovski, Moscow State University

In the 1990s international migration has become one of the most important factors of the demographic development in Russia. However, all the attempts to work out a reasonable long-term state concept of international migration policy have failed. Nowadays, one of the most topical issues for Russia is to determine its migration management strategy that would take into consideration economic and demographic dimensions of its development. This strategy should be based on proper understanding of migration as an advantage for Russia but not the evil that is to be repressed by governmental institutions. However, within the contemporary political situation in Russia and in the world when struggle against terrorism is often prevailing over other interests, attitude towards migration is shifting to suspicious and even negative. The presentation is to demonstrate contradictions in international migration management in Russia, with special emphasis on its trends after September 2001 and September 2004.