In Russian regions, Chechen and Dagestani natives treated worse than foreigners, Leokadia Drobizheva asserts

Slurred migration policy of the Russian state and anti-immigrant statements made by politicians can lead to disintegration of the country. This was stated by experts at the press conference "Why migrants became the trump card of the election campaign in Moscow and how to combat now the ethnic tensions escalated in society?"

On September 11, the press conference was held at the House of Journalists. The meeting was organized by the Foundation "Migration 21^st Century" and the Russian Union of Journalists. According to the organizers' version, the press conference was aimed to make an urgent attempt to dispel harmful myths about migrants used by all candidates for the position of Mayor of Moscow in their programmes.

Leokadia Drobizheva, the leader of the Centre for International Relations, Doctor of Historical Sciences, believes that the danger is that the country may simply fall apart because of the negative attitude to migrants.

"The recent studies show that 30% of the population is constantly experiencing negative attitudes towards people of other nationalities. The figure is within international norms. The attitude to migrants is worse. And Chechen and Dagestani natives are treated even worse than natives of the Central Asian region. This is a worrying trend," said Professor Leokadia Drobizheva.