Fri Nov 22 22:00:00 UTC 2024: ## Russia Turns to Migration to Combat Shrinking Workforce
**Moscow, November 23, 2024** – Facing a severe demographic crisis, the Kremlin has openly acknowledged the need for increased migration to fuel economic development. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia’s dwindling population necessitates an influx of migrants to maintain a dynamic economy and complete crucial development projects.
This announcement follows recent legislation banning “child-free propaganda,” a measure aimed at boosting Russia’s birth rate, which has remained stubbornly low despite government incentives. The country’s demographic woes are attributed to a low fertility rate (1.41 births per woman in 2023, according to Rosstat), high Covid-19 mortality rates, and the exodus of hundreds of thousands of men fleeing mobilization for the war in Ukraine. The number of births in Russia during the first nine months of 2024 saw a 3.4% drop compared to the same period last year, reaching its lowest point since the 1990s.
While the Kremlin expresses a welcoming attitude towards migrants, anti-migrant sentiment, particularly directed towards laborers from Central Asian ex-Soviet republics, remains prevalent within Russia. The acknowledgement of the population decline as “disastrous” for the nation’s future highlights the urgency of the situation and the government’s reliance on foreign workers to address its economic challenges.
First Piper 