Translating into Русский. The English version is shown until it is ready.
Russia's Investigative Committee reports fall in crimes by migrants in 2026
Коротко
Russia's Investigative Committee said migrants committed about 18,000 offences in the first eight months of 2026, 39% fewer than a year earlier, with their share of all crimes falling from 5% to 3%. The same release reported a 13% rise in crimes by ethnic groups, cases of organised illegal migration up to 3,000, and a quarter more cases involving people who recently received Russian citizenship. Kommersant noted that the figures depend on how migration status is recorded in criminal statistics, which changed in 2024.
Читать полностью 2 мин чтения
Russia's Investigative Committee (SKR) reported a decline in crimes committed by migrants, after a meeting chaired by its head, Alexander Bastrykin, on countering migration and ethnic crime. Migrants committed about 18,000 offences in the first eight months of 2026, 39% fewer than in the same period last year, the committee said. The share of crimes committed by foreigners in the total fell from 5% to 3%, and the number of serious crimes committed by migrants and by people staying in Russia illegally halved. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Other figures in the same release moved in the opposite direction. Crimes committed by ethnic groups rose 13%, and the committee said such groups are often formed by people from former Soviet republics in Transcaucasia and Central Asia. The number of cases over organising illegal migration rose to 3,000. Bastrykin said investigators sent almost 2,000 cases on crimes by foreign citizens to court in the eight months, 9% fewer than a year earlier, while cases concerning people who recently received Russian citizenship rose by a quarter. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The SKR also reported on offences by officials in the migration sphere. It said 463 cases were opened in 2026 against employees of internal affairs bodies, and that 217 cases against nearly 300 such officials were sent to court, 42% more than a year earlier. [ 1 ]
Kommersant said the decline should be read with the way the statistics are compiled in mind. Information about the migration status of foreigners in criminal statistics was supplemented and made more specific in 2024, whereas previously it was almost not recorded, so an earlier statistical spike in some categories did not mean a real rise in crime among foreigners, the newspaper said. It added that in July 2024 the interior minister linked the prevention of crimes by foreigners primarily to fingerprint records, and that growth in individual indicators for newly naturalised citizens and ethnic groups should not automatically be read as disproving the fall for foreigners, because they are different accounting cuts. [ 3 ]
Vedomosti noted separately that on 17 September the interior ministry reported that the total number of crimes committed in January-August 2026 fell by 16.6% compared with the same period in 2025. [ 2 ]
Почему это важно
The release is the official account of a politically sensitive subject in Russia — crime by migrants — and largely supports the authorities' line that the problem is shrinking, while also listing increases in ethnic-group crime, illegal migration cases and offences by officials. Kommersant's caveat, that the data depend on a 2024 change in how migration status is recorded, means the trend should be read cautiously rather than as an unambiguous improvement.
Ключевые факты
- The Investigative Committee (SKR) said migrants committed about 18,000 offences in the first eight months of 2026, 39% fewer than in the same period of 2025. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The share of crimes committed by foreigners in the total fell from 5% to 3% in 2026, the SKR said. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The number of serious crimes committed by migrants and by people staying in Russia illegally halved, according to the SKR. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Crimes committed by ethnic groups rose 13%, the committee said, adding that such groups are often formed by people from former Soviet republics in Transcaucasia and Central Asia. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Cases opened over organising illegal migration rose to 3,000, the SKR said. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- SKR head Alexander Bastrykin said investigators sent almost 2,000 cases on crimes by foreign citizens to court in eight months, 9% fewer than a year earlier, while cases concerning people who recently received Russian citizenship rose by a quarter. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The SKR said 463 cases were opened in 2026 against employees of internal affairs bodies in the migration sphere, and 217 cases against nearly 300 such officials were sent to court, 42% more than a year earlier. [ 1 ]
Подтверждено несколькими источниками
- Migrants committed about 18,000 offences in the first eight months of 2026, 39% fewer than a year earlier, the Investigative Committee said. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The share of crimes committed by foreigners fell from 5% to 3% in 2026, according to the committee. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The number of serious crimes committed by migrants halved, the committee said. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Crimes committed by ethnic groups rose 13%, the committee said. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Such ethnic groups are often formed by representatives of former Soviet republics in Transcaucasia and Central Asia, according to the committee. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Cases of organising illegal migration rose to 3,000, the committee said. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Bastrykin said almost 2,000 cases on crimes by foreign citizens were sent to court in eight months, 9% fewer than a year earlier. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Cases concerning crimes by people who recently received Russian citizenship rose by a quarter. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Пока неясно
- Whether the decline in crimes by migrants reflects a real change or the way migration status is recorded in criminal statistics. Kommersant alone raises this point, saying migration status data in criminal statistics was supplemented and made more specific in 2024, whereas previously it was almost not recorded, so the figures depend on how the status of those involved is marked in databases. The SKR figures do not address it.
- Whether the rise in crimes by newly naturalised citizens and ethnic groups contradicts the overall fall in crimes by foreigners. Only Kommersant addresses this, saying the two should be treated as different accounting cuts, but it cites no independent data.
- The committee said 463 cases were opened in 2026 against employees of internal affairs bodies, and 217 cases against nearly 300 such officials were sent to court, 42% more than a year earlier. Reported by a single source so far
Что пишут местные СМИ
Хронология, местное время
- The interior ministry reports that the total number of crimes committed in January-August 2026 fell 16.6% compared with the same period in 2025. [ 2 ]
- Interfax publishes the Investigative Committee's statement on the decline in crimes by migrants, including the figures on official offences in the migration sphere. [ 1 ]
- Vedomosti reports the same committee figures, citing its Telegram channel and the meeting chaired by Bastrykin. [ 2 ]
- Kommersant reports the committee's figures and adds a caveat on how migration status is recorded in criminal statistics. [ 3 ]