Russia’s State Duma has approved in the first reading a bill prohibiting migrant children who have not passed a Russian language proficiency test from being admitted to Russian schools, state media reported on Tuesday.
The bill would also require “verification of the child’s legal status” upon enrollment in schools and other educational institutions.
State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said that at the beginning of the current academic year, 41 percent of migrant children faced difficulties with the Russian language. “Those coming to our country must know Russian, respect its culture and history, and strictly comply with the laws of the Russian Federation,” he said.
Russia’s migration politics
- The Russian government has started hiding monthly migration statistics
- Migration and discrimination in Putin’s Russia
- Despite a nationwide labor shortage, Russian regions are further restricting the types of jobs migrants can hold
- Selling a ‘new perception’ The Kremlin is scrambling to reverse course as its anti-migrant campaign backfires
- Neo-Nazi street attacks are making a comeback in Russia. Experts link it to 2000s nostalgia, Internet clout culture, and the war.