Labor, Leverage, and Empire After Empire: Russia’s Use of Migration in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

Abstract

This thesis examines how labor migration and remittance dependence function as mechanisms of post-imperial influence in contemporary Russia–Central Asia relations. Focusing on Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan—two states among the world’s most remittance-dependent economies—it asks whether and how Russia leverages its position as the primary destination for Central Asian migrant workers to shape the political behavior of sending states. Building on theories of asymmetric interdependence, migration governance, and post-imperial power, the study argues that remittance dependence constitutes a form of structural vulnerability rather than merely an economic condition. Russia’s control over migration regulations, enforcement practices, and the everyday legal precarity of Central Asian migrants enables it to generate political pressure without resorting to overt coercion. Adjustments in migration policy, intensified policing, or signals of potential deportations can rapidly affect household incomes, macroeconomic stability, and domestic political pressures in sending states. Methodologically, the thesis employs comparative case studies and process tracing to analyze key episodes of Russian migration governance and corresponding responses by Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Uzbekistan is used as a comparative reference case to assess whether lower remittance dependence correlates with greater foreign-policy autonomy. The analysis draws on migration statistics, policy documents, media reporting, and secondary academic literature. The findings suggest that migration-based interdependence reproduces hierarchical relations rooted in imperial and Soviet legacies, transforming mobility and labor into instruments of post-imperial leverage. By conceptualizing remittance dependence as a political mechanism, the thesis contributes to debates on sovereignty, migration and power, and the persistence of informal hierarchies in the post-Soviet space.