Attitudes of the Local Population Toward Migrants (Based on the Example of the Volga Federal District)

The presence of migrants over practically the entire territory of Russia from other regions of the country from former Union Republics and from countries of the far abroad in the past ten years has served as a serious source of social tension. The results of analysis of this process (for example see works by E.I. Filippova N.M. Lebedeva N.P. Kosmarskaia G.S. Vitkovskaia Zh.A. Zaionchkovskaia I.M. Badyshtova and other authors) attest to the fact that there is widespread migrantophobia among the population. The aim of our study is to determine how the urban population of the Volga Federal District perceives migrants to assess the degree of tolerance toward various groups of migrants; and to find the causes of existing differentiation in regard to attitudes toward newcomers the sources of migrantophobia and in particular ethnophobia. It is also of interest to determine peoples opinions with regard to the role that is played by migration in the regions economic development how migration impacts the social situation and the populations standard of living and quality of life. In addition to that it is important to determine the attitudes of the local population toward the migration policy of Russia. (excerpt)