Translated with AI
The number of Tajik citizens participating in the Russian state program for the resettlement of compatriots has significantly decreased over the past year, according to Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs monitoring data on the program's implementation, according to the press service of the CIS Executive Committee.
The discussion was prompted by a statement from Yevgeny Primakov, head of Rossotrudnichestvo, that, in the first three quarters of last year, 27,700 people had received certificates of participation in the program, and 21,400 had already resettled to Russia. He named Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Armenia as the countries of origin.
Statistics published by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs show that Tajikistan is no longer among the leaders in terms of the number of applications submitted. While in the first quarter of 2023, Tajik citizens accounted for 37.2% of all applications for participation in the program, in the first quarter of 2025, their share dropped to 4.1%. During this time, the country dropped from first to seventh place.
Kazakhstan led the way in terms of the number of applications. In the second and third quarters of 2025, the majority of migrants also came from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. In the third quarter, the share of migrants from Tajikistan was only 2.4%—the lowest figure for the period under review.
Experts attribute the decline in the number of participants from Tajikistan to changes in the program rules. Effective January 1, 2024, applicants are required to demonstrate proficiency in Russian. Following the introduction of this requirement, the number of applications from Tajik citizens dropped sharply.
An additional factor was the changing family structure of program participants. The average family size of resettlers is approximately 2.3 people, which is typical primarily for Russian-speaking and non-native populations in Central Asian countries.
Thus, official reporting data indicates a decrease in the proportion of migrants from Tajikistan and refutes claims of a mass resettlement of Tajiks to Russia under the compatriots program.
