4.9 Million People Acquire Russian Citizenship Since 1993

4.9 million people acquired Russian citizenship in the past ten years. Deputy Russian Minister for Internal Affairs and Head of the Russian Social Security Section Alexander Chekalin told a session of the State Duma that the majority of people who acquired Russian citizenship arrived to Russia from Kazakstan (more than 1 million people), Ukraine (600,000), and also Uzbekistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Russian immigrants primary places of residence are the Krasnodarsky Kraye and Moscow, Leningrad and Tyumen regions.

Chekalin also said that up to 2.5 million illegal migrants are located on the territory of the Russian Federation. According to the border service over the course of the last several years, on the average, 2 million more people come to Russia than leave. Moreover, the number of illegal foreign workers in Russia is approaching 5 million.