According to Russian media, a court hearing in Stavropol on January 16 addressed another group of violators. It was established that five Azerbaijani citizens and one Uzbek citizen had overstayed their permitted time in Russia. They did not plan to leave the country, thereby violating the law on the legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation.
During the trial, the accused admitted their guilt. They were fined and issued orders for compulsory deportation. However, these court decisions have not yet come into legal effect.
A group of Azerbaijani citizens designated for deportation ended up in Dagestan due to the closure of land borders. One of them, a migrant named Teymur Abdullayev, posted on social media that he and six other Azerbaijani citizens received deportation orders. However, due to the closed land borders, they were unable to cross into Azerbaijan and are currently detained at a police station in Makhachkala.
“Russia allowed us to leave, but Azerbaijan sent us back due to the closed borders. We are now at a police station in Makhachkala, and about 20 more Azerbaijani migrants are in temporary detention facilities in Dagestan. They are being sent to the border in phases. We were given an ultimatum: if Azerbaijan doesn’t accept you, sign a contract to fight in Ukraine for six months. If you die, a bank account will be set up to transfer monthly payments to your families. If you survive and return, you will automatically receive citizenship. During your participation in the conflict, they promise to pay 4 million rubles. If not for the translator, they would have already forced us to sign the contract,” Abdullayev shared.
He also reported being forced to do construction work at the police station: “There are dilapidated buildings here that we are repairing. Until Azerbaijan accepts us, we are staying here.”
Under the new regulations, migrants who have obtained Russian citizenship are required to register with military commissariats within a specified timeframe. Failure to comply results in the revocation of their citizenship and deportation. A few days ago, citizenship for four migrants from former Soviet republics was annulled in Stavropol due to non-compliance with this requirement, and they were deported.
Russian authorities reported that 80,000 migrants were deported from the country last year, and the pace is expected to accelerate this year. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the number of illegal migrants in Russia is approaching 760,000.
This situation highlights the increasingly precarious position of migrants in Russia, as they face not only deportation but also the potential threat of being coerced into participating in the war in Ukraine.
