Slav Population in Sakhalin Dwindles

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK. November 9. VOSTOK-MEDIA – In the past 20 years the ethnic composition of the Sakhalin Region has undergone major changes. The percentage of the Slav population has shrunk considerably. Year by year there are more and more immigrants from South Caucasus and Central Asia.

A round table meeting was held in the framework of the major research and practice conference “Building tolerance among youth”. Among the participants were Sakhalin officials, teachers and representatives of ethnic minorities of the Sakhalin Region, who held talks on issues relating to migration.

According to the Department of the Federal Migration Service, only 3 percent of those leaving CIS countries for Russia gained higher education. The rest 97 % have secondary education or just a school certificate. The majority of immigrants from CIS countries speaks Russian very poorly and has little knowledge of the legislation of the Russian Federation and that’s why they are under constant threat of being deceived.

To date, there are 8,100 Kyrgyzstan nationals registered in Sakhalin, which is almost half of the overall annual influx of migrants. Kirghiz minorities are one of the newest communities in Sakhalin. Talant Omurzakov, Vice-Chairman of Kirghiz Community, stated that his fellow countrymen have a lot of problems.

“Many people get loads of trouble because they don’t speak Russian,” said Talant Omurzakov. “At times people are frightened to go out on to the streets or to visit the migration service. At present we are not able to provide Russian language training. We have already tried it but failed because the majority works up to 12 hours a day and more. They just have no time for training. Moreover, they are hard to get organized.

According to the Sakhalin-Kurily new agency, there are 47 ethnic organizations in the Sakhalin Region. The regional administration collaborates with these organizations.