The Communist Party member at the State Duma (Russia’s lower chamber of parliament), Mikhail Matveyev,  calls for the introduction of visas for migrants following the murder of a Russian general allegedly involving a citizen of Uzbekistan.

The MP shared the proposal on his social media.  He described open borders during the Ukrainian conflict as an “illogical absurdity.”

“Russia should introduce a visa regime with Central Asia and the South Caucasus to shield the country from migrant-terrorists during the special military operation in Ukraine,” Matveyev’s statement was quoted by NEWS.ru.

Matveyev noted that “the visa regime could apply to countries in the South Caucasus and Central Asia.”

The parliamentarian described open borders during hostilities as absurd and argued that with the current volume of migrants, it is impossible to completely prevent the recruitment of individuals from various diasporas.

Matveyev believes that introducing a visa regime and thoroughly vetting entrants could help.  He insisted that these measures should target Central Asia and the South Caucasus, which are the primary sources of migrants entering Russia.

The State Duma's autumn session concluded on December 18.

The issue of tightening entry rules to Russia resurfaced after General Lieutenant-General Igor Kirillov, who headed Russia’s radiological, biological and chemical protections forces, and his aide Ilya Polikarpov were killed in Moscow on December 17 by an explosive device planted in an electric scooter.  The suspect is a 29-year-old citizen of Uzbekistan, Ahmad Kurbanov.

Mikhail Matveyev (born May 13, 1968) is a Russian politician.  A member of the Communist Party, Matveyev represents the Promyshlenny constituency in the State Duma.  

On July 18, 2024, Matveyev was injured in what authorities described was an “attempted murder” in Samara, with Matveyev saying that he was assaulted by migrants when he tried to prevent them from assaulting a passerby.  Three people were arrested over the incident.