Russia seeks to bring in hundreds of thousands of Indian workers

Russia’s Sberbank expects that an inflow of skilled labour from India will help offset the country’s growing workforce shortages, first deputy chairman Alexander Vedyakhin said in an interview with Reuters.

Sberbank CEO German Gref has previously warned that Russia may face a shortage of 2.8–5 million workers in the coming years and that the issue cannot be solved without foreign labour.

Vedyakhin said demand for Indian workers is rising rapidly:

“Labour resources from India are highly sought after now and will be even more so in the future. This is a qualified workforce. We are helping companies bring Indian workers to Russia,” he said.

India’s Consul General in St. Petersburg, Neelam Rani, recently stated that labour migration to Russia has sharply increased this year, and current plans envision attracting 400,000 Indian workers to fill gaps in the Russian labour market.

According to Vedyakhin, Indian workers arrive in Russia with visas issued for a specific employer:

“They receive professional training in India and obtain certificates recognised in Russia. They come with their foreman as part of organised work brigades, live in dedicated construction camps and leave once their contracts expire.”