Hi all,
Today, we’ll look at a story that I personally find very frustrating: the rights of Central Asian migrants in Russia.
According to the Russian Interior Ministry, there are about 10.5 million people from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan working in the country. It has long been clear that they experience derogatory treatment, humiliation, and racism on a daily basis.
The situation has further deteriorated since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In September of that year, the Duma – Russia’s lower chamber of parliament – passed a law fast-tracking citizenship in exchange for military service. Around the same time, Moscow’s Mayor Sergey Sobyanin launched an army enlistment campaign aimed at migrants.
According to a report by Hochu Zhit , a project by Ukraine’s Defence Ministry, more than three thousand Central Asians are now serving in Russia’s military.
The numbers recorded in the Hochu Zhit report are the following:
· 1,110 Uzbek nationals have been enlisted, of whom 109 have been killed.
· 931 Tajiks enlisted, 196 killed.
· 360 Kyrgyz citizens enlisted, 38 killed.
· 170 Turkmen enlisted, 27 killed.
· 661 Kazakhs enlisted, 78 killed.
These numbers have likely changed since May, when the report was published.
Our conversation today focuses on a documentary directed by my dear friend and one of the journalists whose work and courage I truly admire: Shahida Tulaganova. Her new film titled Spirit Untamed tells the story Bahrom Hamroev, a well-known human rights defender from Uzbekistan who spent years working with and supporting Central Asian migrant workers in Russia.
Hamroev was arrested at the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on suspicion of being part of Hizb ut-Tahrir, a non-violent Islamist organisation banned in Russia – a charge he denies. He was sentenced to 13 years and nine months for allegedly justifying terrorism and organising the activities of a terrorist organisation.
You can watch the film’s trailer here.
Shahida Tulaganova is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, born and raised in Uzbekistan and currently based in London. Shahida began her journalism career with BBC News in 1996. Since then, she has reported from Syria, Afghanistan, Eastern Ukraine, Palestine, and Somalia, among other places. Her two recent films - Children of Ukraine (2022) and Ukraine’s Stolen Children (2023) - focused on the situation of children during Russia’s war against Ukraine and were produced by ITV.
Have a great end of the week!
— Agnieszka
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