Commenting on these statistics, leading researcher at the Institute of Socio-Economic Problems of Population of the Russian Academy of Sciences Yelena Tyuryukanova said in particular: "The trend of illegal migration in Russia is certainly characterized as growth. True, the intensive growth of the late 1990s has already passed. But for now we are talking precisely about a slowdown in the growth rate, since the growth in the number of illegal migrants itself continues."
In turn, a press release prepared based on the report's materials notes that the problem of illegal migration is largely linked to corruption, which permeates all relations in labour migration. "The scale it has assumed in Russia (more than 70% of fines for lack of registration are paid by migrants unofficially, that is, in fact, are bribes) requires urgent measures to change the situation," the press release says.
In addition, according to the research cited in the report, less than 25% of migrants have work permits in Russia, 74% of migrants receive their salaries in cash, and less than 20% have a written contract with their employer.
At the same time, the report's authors note that Moscow, more than other regions of Russia, has the most severe forms of exploitation and forced labour: sexual exploitation (30% of the number of women), control over movement and confinement (31%) and physical violence (13%).
In turn, Roger Plant, head of the Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour, said at a press conference: "Today, trafficking in human beings is largely linked to forced labour. To combat it effectively, it is necessary to improve all organisations in the sphere of labour, and we hope that this new study will shed light on many problems and become the first step towards solving them."