Russia Aims to Bring in 1 Million Indian Workers Amid Labor Shortages

Russia aims to bring 1 million Indian workers into the nation by the year’s end to help navigate intensifying labor shortages, said Andrei Besedin, head of Russia’s Ural Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in a July 9 interview.

Worker shortages: Since the early 1960s, Russians have not produced enough children to replace themselves. Russia’s birthrate last year was only 1.22 per woman, barely half the 2.1 births per woman needed to keep a population stable.

This decades-old problem is growing more severe due to Russia’s war on Ukraine.

• Since the full-scale war began in February 2022, more than 1 million working-age Russian men have been killed or wounded severely enough to be considered nonworkers.
• As many as 1 million other working-age Russians have fled the nation to avoid the war.
• 1.3 million Russians are currently active in the military.

This has caused acute labor shortages in nonmilitary sectors throughout Russia.

Abundant population: In 2023, India surpassed China to become the world’s most populous nation. With its 1.4 billion people, India is well positioned to send workers to Russia.

Since Russia and India are forging a deep partnership, India appears eager to help.

As far as I have heard from my Indian colleagues, 1 million specialists from India will come to Russia, including the Sverdlovsk region.
—Andrei Besedin

The bear and the elephant: Providing workers is the latest instance of India’s invaluable assistance to Russia as it wages a brutal war against Ukraine.

• India has massively increased imports of Russian crude oil, helping offset Western sanctions and funding the war machine.
• Indian refiners have employed non-Western insurance and shipping providers, further blunting Western sanctions.
• India has sold refined oil products made from Russian crude to European markets.
• India and Russia have increased trade conducted in rupees and rubles to circumvent Western financial systems and sanctions.
• India has continued its mass procurement of Russian armaments.
• India has abstained from several key United Nations votes that would have increased international pressure on Russia to end the war.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have maintained a warm public friendship, enabling the latter to project an image of legitimacy on the global stage, even as Western nations seek to cast him as a pariah.

Prophecy says: The Bible describes a mighty multinational Asian force that will soon form. Ezekiel 38:1-2 show that Russia will be the lead nation.

Verse 5 says the bloc will include “Ethiopia and Libya.” In this verse, these two names would more accurately be translated “Cush and Phut,” as Young’s Literal Translation renders them. Historical data shows that while some branches of the peoples of Cush and Phut migrated to Africa, the rest settled in India. The context of this passage shows that it refers not to African peoples but mainly to modern-day Indians.

With India now drawing close to Russia across a wide range of areas, including India’s decision to send laborers to replace Russians fighting in the war, the conditions are being created for India to take its place in this Russia-led alliance.

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