A prominent Russian pro-war Telegram Channel has launched a scathing attack on Vladimir Putin‘s immigration policy. The Rybar Telegram Channel was founded by Mikhail Zvinchuk and has more than 1.3 million subscribers.
Zvinchuk is a former military translator, who was recognised for his services by the Kremlin and awarded the Order of Merit of the Fatherland Second Class in 2023. Last month, the channel posted a critical analysis of Russia’s rapidly changing demographics, using the Moscow suburb of Kotelniki to illustrate its point. In a slick video, the channel claimed migrants had attacked local residents on several occasions.
They added that out of 8,000 local schoolchildren, only 50% were allegedly ethnic Russians.
The clip alleged terrorist recruiters were active at a Moscow junk market where weapons and Russian passports could be bought. The channel also identified the locations of “ethnic brothels” and illegal mosques.
The video ends with the on-screen message: “So, who benefits from this breeding ground of Islamic radicals, Russophobes and bandits near the Russian capital?”
Russian building firms and private individuals have for many years relied on cheap migrant labour for their construction projects.
Migrants from the former Soviet Central Asian Republics have helped fill gaps in Russia‘s workforce, caused in part by immigration to the West and a low birth rate.
Numerous video clips have also appeared on social media channels, showing Russian army recruitment staff trying to round up migrant workers to send to the war in Ukraine.
This is not the first time that Putin supporters have criticised the Kremlin for its migration policies.
Last August, Georgy Zakrevsky – the founder of the Paladin militia group – launched a vicious attack on Putin’s handling of the war and on his social policies.
In one part of his diatribe, he said: “The population is dying out, becoming impoverished, drinking itself to death – no one cares.
“All they have time to do is bring in migrants. And all this was done by the so-called ‘president’ – ‘The Great’ Putin.”
Russia is home to around 190 ethnic groups, making it one of the most diverse countries in the world.
What so-called Russian nationalists fail to point out is that initial mobilisation campaigns for the war in Ukraine disproportionally targeted ethnic minorities, according to regional activists.
Ongoing research also appears to show that Russia’s non-Slavic minorities and indigenous peoples are greatly overrepresented among the casualties relative to their share in the country’s population.
US-based Buryat scientist Maria Vyushkova told the Moscow Times: “The most dire situation is … with indigenous small-numbered peoples of the north who should be [legally] exempt from military service altogether.
“This is a terrible tragedy that no one is talking about. In one generation, these nations will simply disappear.”