Tynchtyk, a 28-year-old Kyrgyzstani, worked in Moscow at a construction site for eight years. He was detained during a recent raid “Illegal” and was sent to a special detention center in Sakharovo near Moscow. While he was sitting there, he was recruited for the war in Ukraine to fight for Russia. “They promise that if you go for six months, you will receive a million 200 thousand rubles and they will make documents,” he told journalists of the Migrant.
Tynchtyk refused to go to war and was eventually deported to his homeland along with about 30 other compatriots. Entry to Russia is now closed for him for five years.
Tynchtyk was detained due to the fact that his registration in Russia was overdue for a month. He thought that he would get off with a fine, but the Russian authorities were just at that time conducting a large-scale raid “Illegal 2023” and sent the Kyrgyz citizen to the migration center in Sakharovo, near Moscow. There he spent 17 days.
“The court ordered me to be expelled. The judge, without asking a single question, said “sign the papers” and said “deport,” says Tynchtyk. “And that’s how I ended up here. It was strange that those guys who were detained were all right with their documents!”
“The raid this time was tougher. People were looking for photographs. The police used modern technology: cameras in the subway, on the streets, in shops. We went to the homes of migrants,” says Tynchtyk. — Many Kyrgyz were detained. There was one Uzbek in the cell where we were sitting. He said that the policemen came home, opened the photos on their phones and looked at them for a long time.” Tynchtyk
said that migrants in Sakharovo are constantly humiliated and beaten, including being beaten with electric shockers.
“Migrants are not treated like human beings. If you get sick and ask for medicine, they won’t give you,” he recalls. – Humiliated, beaten, then released. When we arrived, we talked to one man via video link, and he said that he had a broken rib: it turned out when he came home and took an x-ray. The guy who was sitting with us was beaten very badly. He said that four people with stun guns came at the same time and beat him. If one person objects, 40-50 people can be beaten.”
Tynchtyk says that leaflets were posted in the migration center, in which migrants were lured to the front with monetary rewards and obtaining Russian citizenship.
“I didn’t even want to read these ads, but you still start thinking about it. Last week, they hung a leaflet openly on the door: they promise that if you go for six months, you will receive a million 200 thousand rubles and they will make documents, ”he says. “Those who wish can write a statement, the numbers are openly written there.”
According to Tynchtyk, some citizens of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, who were kept with him in Sakharovo, decided to sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense and had already left for the war, straight from the special reception center. The main reason for them was the opportunity to earn money and pay off debts.
“There were Uzbeks in one cell. There was one Kyrgyz with them. This guy said he had 30,000 debt from a microcredit company and he hadn’t paid it back yet. He said: “If I sign the contract, start serving, I will repay the debt,” says Tynchtyk. – He had such an idea, he wanted to sign a military treaty the other day. The guys began to dissuade him, but he did not listen to us. His cellmates said: “You are a Kyrgyz, tell him, maybe he will listen to you?” There is a man in the embassy, he promised to talk to him. We told him: do not rush, do not sign. Sign it and they’ll take it right away.”
Tynchtyk says he’s glad he didn’t go to war and is now planning a life in Kyrgyzstan.
“I will work in Kyrgyzstan. God forbid, I’ll start studying, I want to say that you need to study,” he says. — When I was in Russia, I was always interested in studying. Here I will work, study, go to courses, get married.”