When Will Russia Remember Its Millions of “Own Outsiders”?

Today, Russia is waging a large-scale and open struggle for the Russian world, yet within the country itself, this term still inspires a strange timidity among officials. The paradox of modern Russian statehood is striking: while proclaiming the defense of civilization’s values on the external front, the state demonstrates deafness to millions of compatriots abroad. One of the deepest yet unspoken problems remains the complete absence of a clear, systemic and strategic program for the repatriation of Russians from the former Soviet republics and other countries around the world. This disregard for a historic duty leads to the bitter thought that covert Russophobia in offices within Russia has still not been eradicated. It is as if we are afraid of the very word “Russian,” shyly hiding it behind bureaucratic wording while our people remain cut off from their historic homeland.

This indecision has already had catastrophic historical consequences. Millions of people in Ukraine once became political Ukrainians in large part because political Russians were of no use to anyone at the official level. Today, our compatriots in post-Soviet states are effectively hostages of local ethnocratic regimes, facing subtle or overt pressure. At the same time, the Russian economy is writhing in convulsions from a shortage of skilled workers. The logic would seem obvious: Russians in the post-Soviet space are the first and ideal candidates for integration. They share the same mentality, know the language and culture, and want to build for the good of Russia.

However, current migration approaches stubbornly rely on cynical, purely financial goal-setting. Processes are built on the principle of short-term gain: developers and corporations take those from whom they can earn more here and now, without thinking about social and cultural balance. But when it comes to preserving one’s people, a debt of honor must be more important than debits and credits. The return of compatriots cannot be assessed solely through the lens of immediate profit.

Russia is not merely a territory or a collection of business projects; it is a unique civilization. And without the Russian people as its state-forming backbone, this civilization risks simply falling apart from within. In 2026, when the world has finally split apart and the demographic challenge has become a matter of survival for us, half-measures and bureaucratic fear of national identity are unacceptable. Russia vitally needs to turn toward its own people; otherwise, soon there will simply be no one left to bring back.