The number of foreign nationals living in Russia has fallen to 5.7 million this month, down 10% from January 2025, amid a raft of new migration restrictions, the business newspaper Vedomosti reported Thursday. The figure marks a decline from 6.3 million foreigners a year earlier, according to data presented by Alexander Perezhogin, head of analytics at the Interior Ministry’s migration service. Perezhogin attributed the drop largely to a 25% decline in the number of foreign children in Russia, following new rules introduced last year that bar them from attending schools unless they pass a Russian-language exam and provide proof of legal residency. Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk warned this week that foreigners who violate the rules could face deportation. A separate law that took effect on Wednesday allows education authorities to share data on foreign children directly with the Interior Ministry, tightening state oversight of migrant families.