Еmigration processes from Russia: directions, scale, ethnic structure

Abstract

After the collapse of the Soviet Union the structure of migration processes in Russia radically changed, a significant part of the internal migrations transformed into international ones. Although the scale of internal migrations noticeably decreased, still they continued to exceed international by several times. Along with the re-emigration of Russians and the immigration of people of other nationalities to Russia from the countries of the new abroad, which assumed a mass character, the international emigration from Russia to the countries of the old abroad increased significantly. This international migration flow has become permanent in the post-Soviet period. Analysis of statistical data made it possible to conclude that the scale of international migration, that substantially increased in the 1990s, in the zero years of the 21st century declined markedly. This applies both to immigration flows to Russia from the countries of the new abroad and to emigration flows from Russia to the countries of the old abroad. Despite the significant reduction in emigration from Russia in the twenty-first century, the main recipient countries for emigrants, as they were originally, are still Germany, Israel and the United States. The latter is due to the ethnic component. The article shows the extent to which international migrations damage Russia and improve labor (first of all, scientific and technical) and demographic potential of a number of recipient countries. It is emphasized that the solution of these problems is beyond the scope of state migration policy.