Migration control system must be modernized - Putin
SARANSK. Aug 24 (Interfax) - Russia's system of controlling migration processes in the country must be modernized, for example, by creating a network of state adaptation courses for migrant workers and their children, said Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Today migration processes are playing a significant role, both in Russia and in other countries, he said at the first meeting of the Council for inter-ethnic relations. "We are already second after the United States by the number of immigrants. And just like other countries, we encountered the problem of inter-ethnic tensions. So to realize the positive potential laid down in migration processes - and there is, of course, a positive potential there - the whole system of controlling them must be modernized," Putin said.
Proper conditions must be created for migrants' integration, and their rights and freedoms must be protected, he said.
"At the same time, immigrants too must respect the requirements of the Russian laws and the immigration rules, and respect our traditions, culture, behavioral norms in the regions where they go to. Only such mutual respect will lead to a harmony and not formation of enclosed ethnic groups," Putin said.
"Russia wants to integrate immigrants culturally, force them to learn the national culture. Therefore, the task of creating of a network of state adaptation courts for migrant workers and their children must be made more specific for the government and regional leaders. Our Council too could take part in such work," the president said.
The Council should also get involved in the formation of the "List of 100 books" recommended for reading by schoolchildren outside their compulsory curriculum. The list must include the works describing the traditions of interaction between various peoples and ethnicities that have historically inhabited Russia, Putin said.
Ethnic communities should play a special role in migrants' adaptation by to taking charge of their fellow citizens, he said. They could use the infrastructure of cultural and training centers for teaching their countrymen the traditions and customs of the region where they come to live and work.
"Of course, here support is needed from the state, as is a dialogue between various structures of civil society and state," the Russian president said.