Patterns of Internal Migration During the Russian Transition

Internal migration in post-Soviet Russia accounts for 80 per cent of all migration, involving millions of individuals a year. With the fall of communism, the Russian state has withdrawn from the regulation of internal migration, and the right to migrate freely is now an uncontested freedom. For most of the 1990s, the Russian countryside has been a net recipient of migrants, reversing a decades-long trend of rural out-migration. Regional patterns of migration have changed, as the Russian Far East and the north are now experiencing significant outflows. Statistical evidence shows that regional economic characteristics are influencing migration flows. Finally, gender and level of urbanity also affect the process of internal migration.