Like so many big cities Moscow relies heavily on cheap, legal and illegal, migrant workers to do the jobs no one else will do; low paid service jobs like cleaning and sweeping. They uphold any public or private place; offices, apartment blocks, fitness clubs, stores, banks, beauty salons, discos, restaurants, streets, train stations, airports, etc. The invisible people who keep the interior and exterior spaces clean and tidy. In Moscow most of them come from the former Soviet Republics of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. According to recent data from the Federal Migration Service (FMS), about 14 million immigrants arrive in Russia every year. Seventy-seven percent of them come from the former Soviet republics, while an additional 10 percent from the eurozone. More than 2 million illegal immigrants move to Moscow every year, along with 400,000 legal ones.
And the street sweepers.
This is the view from my window. The sweepers I meet every morning and evening live here.
Watch this little film shot and meet reality.
Also check out this interesting photo blog by Denis Sinyakov documenting migrant workers in moscow.
Thank You Guys!