Migrant raids in Moscow largely waste of time

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Natalia Antonova, Acting Editor-in-Chief, October 18, 2013) The weekly sweeps targeting illegal migrants in Moscow are certainly an ambitious project.

It’s just too bad that they won’t do much good.

The police plan on going door-to-door, to find out exactly where and from whom that migrants are renting living space, according to Moscow Police Chief Anatoly Yakunin. This new measure has been introduced in the wake of a riot that erupted in the south Moscow neighborhood of Biryulyovo, after resident Yegor Shcherbakov was stabbed to death allegedly by a foreigner. The alleged killer has already been apprehended.

These demonstrative attempts to keep the migrants in check are obviously not going to do much good when it comes to combating actual crime. Tough registration laws mean that a bunch of migrants who are trying to be law-abiding are, in fact, breaking the law. The fact that the Moscow rental market is largely a “gray” market – with most landlords avoiding taxes (many of them doing so simply because taxes are too much hassle) is yet another problem that makes the registration issue more acute. In that sense, a bunch of people who are not really criminals, yet find themselves in difficult legal situations, will be ripe for victimization.

Real criminals will have an easy time avoiding law enforcement altogether. This is because criminal networks in Moscow are well-organized and established – and know how to protect their own.

Considering the fact that according to some estimates, the Moscow police force is already seriously overstretched – the weekly raids could ensure that instead of chasing actual, violent thugs, law enforcement will be wasting its precious resources on small-time violators.

This isn’t progress. This is simulation of progress. It won’t solve the many different issues around uncontrolled migration and crime in Moscow. It may perhaps make the police chief look good, but for how long?