in 1993, russia adopted three laws to address the issue of migration. the first law, incorporated under the russian constitution, grants individuals the right to claim political asylum in russia. the second law, the law on forced migrants, addressed those asylum seekers who either already had russian citizenship or were qualified to obtain it. these migrants were mainly people living in fsu republics, with or without russian citizenship, that were forced to move to russia after the fall of the soviet union for economic reasons. the law on forced migrants allowed these individuals to freely and legally move to russia. the third law, the law on refugees, addressed those asylum seekers coming from states other than the former soviet union republics, or the "far abroad". in effect, the laws enacted in 1993 were meant to offer protection first to former soviet citizens, and second to citizens of all other countries. in fact, the dominant interpretation of the 1993 law on refugees was that refugee status was to be granted only to asylum seekers from the "near abroad" (the former soviet republics). however, as russia began to develop in the mid 1990s, large numbers of individuals fearing persecution for various reasons in the middle east, africa, and asia viewed russia as a safe place to migrate to. in response, in 1997, russia amended and replaced the 1993 law on refugees to better address those individuals who have traveled to russia in need of international protection.