This paper examines the two largest Turkish communities in the Russian Federation. Belonging to the first community are Turkishlanguage speakers who are usually Turkish citizens working temporarily in Russia. The second community consists of Meskhetian Turks who in different periods of history have been known by various names, including Georgian Muslims, Muslim Meskhetians, Meshs, Meskhetian Turks, Turkish Ahiska and Ahalczihk Turks. These communities essentially differ in their origin and identity, settlement and migration, way of life and spheres of employment. These differences are outlined and the adaptation and integration of these communities into Russian society discussed. Also considered are the implications of their experiences for the development of Russian migration policy in relation to temporary labour migration.