Thousands of Uzbek workers have come to Moscow in an attempt to escape the grinding poverty of their authoritarian homeland and find jobs in the Russian capital. The past few weeks have seen an uprising by poverty-striken Uzbek citizens, as well as the shooting of hundreds of demonstrators in Uzbek cities. Though the Uzbek government has blamed Islamic extremists, others say that the rebellion has occured because of poverty and corruption. To escape such a dire situation, many workers have fled the country for Russia, and are taking whatever jobs are available to them.
See "Uzbek Workers Come to Moscow Seeking Work", Associated Prss, The New York Times, May 18, 2005