10 mln illegal migrants live in Russia

MOSCOW, Jan 30 (Reuters) Around 10 million illegal migrants live in Russia, derived mainly from other former Soviet countries, the Russian migration authority said today.

Konstantin Romodanovsky, head of the Federal Migration Service, was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying 22 million foreigners entered Russia annually.

''According to experts 10 million migrants live in Russia illegally,'' he said. Russia's population is shrinking because of low birth rates and life expectancy and is expected to contract to 141.7 million this year.

About 80 per cent of all foreigners entering Russia are citizens of former Soviet countries such as Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, Romodanovsky said.

An influx of darker-skinned migrants since the collapse of the Soviet Union has fuelled racism among Russians.

President Vladimir Putin has urged his government to ''protect the native population'' when dealing with the migration issue in a remark that human rights campaigners condemned as indirectly racist.

Russia has introduced laws to streamline the bureaucracy foreigners have to go through to live and work in Russia legally and experts say the new rules might reduce their numbers.

One change will implement a gradual ban on foreigners working as traders in outdoor markets where immigrants are dominant, causing friction with ethnic Russians.

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