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rfmcdonaldThe Guardian suggests that a second wave of ethnically Russian immigrants to the Russian Federation is beginning, echoing the 1990s' wave of Russophone migration from the non-Russian ex-Soviet republics.
The article goes on to cite specific examples from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine. It might be important to distinguish between Russophone migration from the Central Asian republics and Russophone migration from Ukraine, since the divide between ethnic Ukrainians and ethnic Russians in that country is fairly small. One thing that would be interesting to discover is Russia's migrational balance with the Baltic States: How big is it, what direction is it in, and how much has it changed?
The number of Russians returning to their homeland is increasing for the first time since the mass emigration that followed the fall of the Soviet Union, some fleeing a tide of anti-Russian sentiment stirred by pro-western revolutions across the country's former empire.
Figures from the federal state statistics service for the first three months of this year show net migration into Russia has more than doubled compared with the same period last year. Analysts said that many of these migrants would be ethnic Russians.
The service said that from January to March there was a net migration into Russia of 29,505 people. A total of 11,661 people was recorded in the same period of 2004. Until the start of this year, annual figures for net migration into Russia had fallen consistently for more than 10 years.
The turnaround has been attributed partly to economic reasons: although Russia's economic growth is slowing, it is still outstripping many of its neighbours. But popular unrest has also been a factor, analysts said.
The article goes on to cite specific examples from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine. It might be important to distinguish between Russophone migration from the Central Asian republics and Russophone migration from Ukraine, since the divide between ethnic Ukrainians and ethnic Russians in that country is fairly small. One thing that would be interesting to discover is Russia's migrational balance with the Baltic States: How big is it, what direction is it in, and how much has it changed?
