Russian President Vladimir Putin is convening his Security Council today to discuss the “neutralisation of threats to national security”.

The meeting comes as UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is on a hastily arranged visit to Washington to talk with his counterpart and White House officials about “shared security concerns” including Ukraine and Russia. The precise nature of the talks remain unclear.

As for Mr Putin’s virtual meeting with security officials, the Kremlin said, in typical Kremlin-speak: “It’s planned to consider issues related to the neutralisation of threats to national security in the migration area and the regulation of migration processes in the interests of the socio-economic development of the country and socio-political stability.”

Russian migration

Migration has been a hot-button issue in Russia for several years now. In 2010, then-President Dmitry Medvedev set a goal of attracting 20 million migrant workers to Russia by 2020 in order to offset the country’s declining population.

However, this goal was not met, due in part to xenophobic policies and rhetoric enacted by the Russian government. These policies have only intensified under President Putin, who has sought to clamp down on what he perceives as “illegal” immigration.

In recent years, there have been mass deportations of migrant workers from Russia, as well as raids on migrant communities living in squalid conditions. These actions have been widely condemned by human rights groups, who have accused the Russian government of xenophobia and racism. Mr Putin’s meeting today is likely to focus on how to further tighten restrictions on migration into Russia.

Given the rhetoric that has come out of the Kremlin in recent years, it is likely that we will see further crackdowns on migration into Russia. But it would only serve to further exacerbate the plight of migrants living in Russia.