Vladimir Ashurkov: Visas Are Not a Panacea, but a Step Toward Solving the Problem The inflow of labor will stop, but there will be fewer people living outside the law Read in full
Every society has its own natural pace for integrating newcomers that it can sustain without harmful consequences. By many indications, in recent years in Russia the rate at which people from a different culture have been arriving has exceeded this natural limit, and our society has stopped coping with the task. When I speak of newcomers or people of a different culture, I do not mean formal issues of citizenship or religion. The divide is not along national or religious lines. I would define it as two cultures: Europeans and non-Europeans (for lack of more precise or politically correct terms). As a first approximation, belonging to the Europeans can be identified by four traits: the ability to communicate in the language generally accepted in society—in our case, Russian—the equal role of women in society and the family, recognition of the value of education and culture, respect for a point of view different from one’s own, and the ability to acknowledge another person’s right to be different from you. Among Russian citizens, Europeans and non-Europeans coexist, and among residents of the North Caucasus, the share of non-Europeans is significantly higher than in other regions of Russia. Citizens of Central Asian countries arriving in Russia—who make up the largest share of illegal migrants (that is, non-citizens of Russia who remain in the country for a long time either in violation of the terms of their stay or while working without the proper permit)—belong overwhelmingly to non-European cultures. It does not matter which country’s citizen killed Yegor Shcherbakov in West Biryulyovo (a district in Moscow). The essence of this and other similar tragedies is a conflict between a non-European who does not respect a neighbor’s right to do as he wishes and is ready to use violence if he believes he will go unpunished, and European culture. http://www.vedomosti.ru/opinion/news/18070461/obschestvo-ne-spravlyaetsya-s-pritokom-migrantov?full#cut Volodya did well. He calmly, consistently, and convincingly explains why introducing a visa regime with the countries of Central Asia, while it will not solve all migration-related problems, is absolutely necessary. You can support the initiative to introduce a visa regime here.