Over the first four months of this year (January-April), about 22,000 foreigners have been deported from the Russian Federation, which is almost twice as much as in the same period last year.  Over the same four-month period, 669 people have been deprived of Russian citizenship, says an analytical report by the Interior Ministry of the Russian Federation.  

In all, 38,000 decisions on deportation of foreign citizens from Russia have been made over the first quarter of this year, which is 28.5 percent more than in the same period last year.  

According to data from the Russian Interior Ministry, 79,000 foreign citizens have been banned from entering Russia over the first three months of this year, which 24,000 people more than in the same period last year years.

The analytical report notes that over the same three-month period, the number of permits issued for temporary residence has dropped by 40.9 percent and the number of residence permits has dropped by 20.1 percent.  

A total number of protocols on administrative offenses in the field of migration has reached 490,187 over the reporting period (3.4-percent increase).  

Besides, the number of detected illegal migration related crimes has risen 2.5 times and the number of preliminarily investigated cases on such crimes has risen two times.  

The Russian Interior Ministry notes that compared to the first quarter of last year the number of people admitted to the Russian citizenship over the same period this year has dropped by nearly 50 percent.      

Media reports say Russia deported hundreds of foreigners for immigration violations in March this year in the wake of the deadliest terrorist attack in nearly two decades.

Meanwhile, many Tajik migrant workers have reportedly been the country on their own accord, fearing an increase in xenophobia.

Recall, Russian law enforcement carried out sweeping checks of immigrants in the country after gunmen on March 22 killed 144 people at a concert hall in Krasnogorsk.   

Russia hosts millions of migrant workers from Central Asia who are employed in a variety of occupations, including construction, street cleaning, retail, and the restaurant industry.

The terrorist attack has sparked an increase in xenophobic remarks and attacks, prompting some to return home now.

According to official data, 652,014 Tajik nationals, including 554,804 men and 97,210 women, traveled abroad  last year seeking better employment opportunities, which is 123,564 people or 16 percent less than 2022 (in 2022, 775,578 Tajik labor migrants traveled abroad, primarily to Russia, but also to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan).  

Of those 652,014 Tajiks, who traveled abroad last year, 627,028 traveled to Russia, 18,418 others traveled to Kazakhstan and 6,568 people traveled to other countries.