Chapter 2 Russia’s policy toward Chinese immigrants in its Far East
2.1 The demographic problem and labor distribution in Russian Far East
2.1.4 Overall labor distribution
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issue that concerns both the Russian and the local governments.50
2.1.4 Overall labor distribution
In 1991 Russia’s Far East population reached a new record, 8.0566 million.
From then on, this figure started to go gradually down. Between 1991 and 1995, 552,000 people had been lost, of which rural population made up 6.9%. Between 1996 and 2000, 399,000 had been lost again, of which rural population accounted for 5.3%. By 2002, the Far East’s population was 7.0381 million, down approximately 2.5 million from 1989.51
In 2001, the Russian federal government (Росси́йская Федера́ция) stipulated Russia’s “Labor Law”, which applies to all people working in Russia, including those from allied republics in the Soviet Union period and foreigners.52
50 Bodanov, Sergei and Rudak, Anatoly, “Problem of Chinese migrants in Far East should be treated calmly ,” Itar-Tass Weekly News, (Blagoveshchensk: Apr., 2002):p1.
In 2002, the Russian federal government instituted the “Foreign Citizens’ Legal Status Law”. In the same year, president Vladimir Putin (Влади́мир Влади́мирович Пу́тин), who was attending a “Social and Economic Development Problems in the Far East Federal District” meeting held in Khabarovsk, pointed out, regarding foreign labor problems in the district, that the Foreign Citizens’ Legal Status Law was intended to adjust the labor market. He added that each Russian federal body should, by law, under the premise of promising Russia’s federal citizens’ right to work, effectively adjust and manage foreign labor markets and implanted a foreign labor work permit and quota management system. Besides, Russia’s Federal Migration Service, Ministry of Interior, suggested to extend the work duration of foreign laborers working in the
51 Motrich, Ekaterina, “Demographic Potential and Chinese Presence in the Russian Far East,” Far Eastern Affairs,( St. Petersburg: Jan., 2002): p67-78.
52 蓋莉萍，「俄羅斯遠東聯邦區的外國勞動力」。西伯利亞研究4 (2006): 41。[Gai Liping, Eluosi yuandong lianbangqu de waiguolaodongli (The foreign labors in the Russian Far East Federal District) Xibaliya Yanjiu (Siberian Research) 4 (2006): 41.]
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Russian Federation from one to three years.53
Currently, the Russian Federation introduces foreign labors from 119 countries around the world; of them, 40% in the Central Federal District, 15% in the Siberia Federal District, 11.5% in the Far East Federal District. By an estimate from Russia’s Federal Migration Service, there are a total of approximately 10 million people of foreign nationalities, yet only 2 million have legal status and 0.7 million pay taxes. In 2006 the Russian federal government assigned a labor quota of 58,600 persons to the Far East, which accounted for 20% of Russia’s overall quota. (See Table 2-4) Of the figure, 16,500 was for the coastal border area, 14,000 for Khabarovsk, 11,500 for Amur, 7,000 for Sakhalin, 4,703 for Jewish Autonomous Oblast, 1,700 for Republic of Sakha. (See Table 2-5)54 However, the actual number of laborers needed practically often surpassed the nation’s permitted quotas. This suggests that the practical need cannot be met. A great number of foreign legal laborers are introduced outside of quota. The main reason is that employers do not want to go through the complicated procedure or that they desire to catch up work and cut down on costs.55
Tab le 2-4 ： The Russian government allocated the labor quota to the administrative district
53 Bodanov, Sergei and Rudak, Anatoly, “Problem of Chinese migrants in Far East should be treated calmly ,” Itar-Tass Weekly News, (Blagoveshchensk: Apr., 2002):p1.
54 劉慧麗，「俄羅斯遠東地區的人口問題與中俄勞務合作」，俄羅斯中亞東歐市場2 (2007): 41。
[Liu Huili, Eluosi yuandong diqu de renkou wenti yu ZhongE laowu hezuo (The population of the Russian Far East labor service cooperation with China and Russia) Eluosi Zhongya Dongou Shichang (Russia's Central Asia and Eastern) Europe 2 (2007): 41.]
55 Lukin, Alexander, “The Image of China in Russian Border Regions” Asian Survey, Vol. 38, No. 9 (Sep., 1998), pp. 823.
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Tab le 2-5：The Russian government allocated the labor quota to the Far East
30%
Russia’s federal government, President Putin, and Russian scholars have considerable concern about the population size of the Far East, labor market condition, and labor introduction problems.56 As far as the Fart East is concerned, a labor demand of 6.7 million is needed, but there are about 4.6 million working age people.57
56 Дмитриев, А. В. и Пядухов, Г. А., “Этнические группы мигрантов и конфликты в анклавных рынках труда,” Социологические исследов ания, No.8, 2005, p. 90.[Dmitriev, AV and Pyaduhov, GA, Ethnic groups of migrants and conflict in the enclave labor markets (族群移民和衝突飛地勞動力 市場), Sociological research Ania, No.8, 2005, p. 90.]
Forecasts suggest that by 2010, the working age population will reduce to 4.31 million,
57 Motrich, Ekaterina, “Demographic Potential and Chinese Presence in the Russian Far East,” Far Eastern Affairs,( St. Petersburg: Jan., 2002): p67.
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down 5.8% from 2002 (see Table2-6). By 2016, the working age population will be 1 million fewer than in 1991. As the labor resource problem has become a strategic problem of economic stability and growth for the Far East, on the basis of the district’s labor resources, further labor will be introduced, by twenty percentages of current labor resources.58 About 90% of the foreign labor is male, of which 70% is in the construction, agriculture, and industry sectors.
Tab le 2-6：Take foreign labor force distribution between Khabarovsk border areas and Amur in 2003 as an example (Unit: people)
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
Business/Diet Industry Architecture Agriculture Others
Amur Oblast Khabarovsk Krai
Source from: 蓋莉萍，「俄羅斯遠東聯邦區的外國勞動力」。西伯利亞研究4 (2006): 43。[Gai Liping, Eluosi yuandong lianbangqu de waiguolaodongli (The foreign labors in the Russian Far East Federal District) Xibaliya Yanjiu (Siberian Research) 4 (2006): 43.]