180,000 crossed the Russian border illegally
Figures from the Russian Security Service (FSB) show that more than 180,000 people last year were caught in having illegally made it into Russia.
The annual report on cross-border movements, presented by the FSB’s Border Service on Monday, shows that more than 111 million people in 2009 crossed the Russian border. Of them, 118 thousands were caught in illegal border crossing and subsequently charged and fined, Deputy leader of the Border Service Nikolai Rybalkin told RIA Novosti.
More than 50 thousand people were caught with falsified or stolen identification documents. Most of the violators are believed to come from former Soviet republics in Central Asia and the Caucasus.
The FSB leader said nothing about the estimated number of people not included in the official statistics. In addition to the registered violators, a big number of people are believed to live in Russia without appropriate documents.
Russia has a land border more than 20,000 km long. The country borders 14 countries.
