DUSHANBE, October 29, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- As of mid-August this year, 290,428 Tajik migrants legally worked in Russia, Dilbar Khojayeva, a spokeswoman for the representative office of the Tajik Ministry of Interior in Moscow, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.

According to her, 180,315 Tajik nationals have been granted work permits in Russia in January-September this year. 

She noted that more than 14,000 Tajiks have worked in agrarian sector, 12,300 in construction sector, some 42,400 in trade sector, more than 16,700 in communal services, 481 in education sector, and 724 in health sector.

Over the first nine moths of this year, period, 80 meetings with senior representatives of economic entities of Russia have been held and 15 agreements have been concluded with Russian enterprises and organizations for placing Tajik citizens in seasonal jobs.  As a result of this, applications for more than 7,000 jobs have been received, Khojayeva said.

In the meantime, Tajik nationals have reportedly committed more than 7,000 crimes in the Russian Federation over the report period.  “Analysis of these crimes shows that Tajik citizens have been detained mainly for document fraud – 2,720 cases,” said the spokeswoman, “In 752 cases, Tajik citizens have been detained for drug trafficking.”

Over the same nine-month period, more than 1,400 crimes have been committed against Tajik nationals in the Russian Federation.