MOSCOW August 7 (RIA Novosti) – Three-quarters of Russians say that a large presence of migrants from other countries is bad, with more than half saying immigration laws should be stricter, according to a poll published Wednesday.
The number of Russians against a large migrant presence has increased to 74 percent from 68 percent five years ago, according to the survey, conducted last month by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM).
Only 14 percent of respondents said a large number of foreign migrants is good for Russia.
The proportion of those who think that immigration laws should be stricter has increased from 40 percent in 2005 to 53 percent.
Only 6 percent of respondents said entry rules for migrants should be eased (down from 14 percent in 2005).
About 57 percent of Russians said laws should be stricter to stem the inflow of migrants from neighboring former Soviet republics, as well as other “southern and eastern” areas.
The poll was conducted on July 13-14 using a nationwide sample of 1,600 adults across 130 residential areas. The statistical margin of error did not exceed 3.4 percent.
