Russia's Recession Squeezes Migrants

Millions of Foreigners, Lured by Oil Boom, Now Face Bias in Ethnic Backlash.

MOSCOW -- A few years ago, Alisher Azizov traveled by train to Moscow from Tajikistan in search of a better life, and he found it.

Working as a security guard and stock boy for a flower shop, the 32-year-old son of peasants earned about $1,000 a month, 15 times the average salary in his impoverished homeland and enough to support the extended family he left behind -- his wife, five sons, parents and seven siblings.

But a few weeks ago, his boss slashed his salary by two-thirds, blaming the global economic crisis that has battered Russia. At those wages, Azizov couldn't afford the rent for the cramped apartment he shares with several other migrant workers. So he found himself at the train station again, contemplating the long journey back to his home village.