Migrations during the Soviet Period and in the Early Years of USSR’s Dissolution: A Focus on Central Asia

Contemporary mass flow of labor migrants from particularly Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to Russia is a topic which has been increasingly attracting the attention researchers on Central Asia. Yet how new is this phenomenon really? This article illustrates migrations between Central Asia and Russia from the early years of the Soviet period until the beginning of a new era marked by the fall of the USSR. It explains the opportunities for and constraints on population mobility during the Soviet period. Strict control of population movements and forced resettlement programs which took place especially during the Stalinist period influenced the ethnic composition in the region. This article also elaborates on the party-state’s management of labor force in the late 1970s and early 1980s especially state-supported migration to Russia to enhance production through the cultivation of virgin lands.