Who will live in small Russian towns? Estimating the migratory mobility of the youth from small Russian towns

Yulia Florinskaya, Russian Academy of Sciences

This research draws on the findings of a sociological survey conducted out in four small Russian Towns: Vyazniki in Vladimir oblast, Yartsevo in Smolensk oblast, Shar’e in Kostroma oblast, and Buinsk in the Republic of Tatarstan. Interviews with 500 school leavers made it possible to evaluate the migratory intentions of young townspeople and to identify factors strengthening and weakening their migratory mobility. The conducted research clearly shows how much the potential level of the migratory mobility of the youth living in small towns is high: according to direct and indirect estimates, approximately three thirds of young people are ready to leave their “native land.” Initially, this is temporary migration with the purpose of getting education, but the plans for a post-university future that are formulated by students show that the overwhelming majority of them does not bind a further life with a hometown. Consequently, temporary migration has every prospect of turning into the constant one.