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rfmcdonaldThe September 22nd issue of The Economist (page 89) has a brief article concerning the tightness of Baltic labour markets. It seems that between the Baltic States' booming economies, their low birth rates, and their high rates of emigration, there's no slack left. The article mentioned in passing that things were so difficult that a French company in Estonia buses in 150 or so workers from the depressing industrial city of Narva to work in Tallinn.
That caught my attention, since Narva is the only Russian-majority city in Estonia and is in the centre of a highly Russified and definitely depressed industrial area. Almost as a rule, in fact, Soviet-era immigrants in the Baltic States are concentrated in economically depressed urban areas, whether the industrial suburbs of Tallinn, the oil-shale districts of northeastern Estonia, or the peripheries of Vilnius and Klaipeda and Rîga and Daugavpils. As this report by the Norwegian think-tank FAFO notes, further, members of non-titular nationalities in the Baltic States (i.e. Russophones) are more likely to emigrate despite a somewhat better economic position, given how marginalized they feel in a difficult job market.
I wonder. Lithuania is unique in having a long tradition of long tradition of emigration by ethnic Lithuanians, but Latvians and Estonians have traditionally stayed at home. Might we see new patterns of migration develop, with Russophones migrating from their depressed communities into Baltic-dominated territories or leaving altogether for third countries? Already, apparently most of the Latvians living in Ireland are actually Russophones.
(UPDATE (3:07 PM) : What the above synopsis forget to mention was that for Baltic Russians, societies which remain hostile to Russia and Russophone culture and polities which restrict their membership are more important factors than economics. My mistake.
That caught my attention, since Narva is the only Russian-majority city in Estonia and is in the centre of a highly Russified and definitely depressed industrial area. Almost as a rule, in fact, Soviet-era immigrants in the Baltic States are concentrated in economically depressed urban areas, whether the industrial suburbs of Tallinn, the oil-shale districts of northeastern Estonia, or the peripheries of Vilnius and Klaipeda and Rîga and Daugavpils. As this report by the Norwegian think-tank FAFO notes, further, members of non-titular nationalities in the Baltic States (i.e. Russophones) are more likely to emigrate despite a somewhat better economic position, given how marginalized they feel in a difficult job market.
I wonder. Lithuania is unique in having a long tradition of long tradition of emigration by ethnic Lithuanians, but Latvians and Estonians have traditionally stayed at home. Might we see new patterns of migration develop, with Russophones migrating from their depressed communities into Baltic-dominated territories or leaving altogether for third countries? Already, apparently most of the Latvians living in Ireland are actually Russophones.
(UPDATE (3:07 PM) : What the above synopsis forget to mention was that for Baltic Russians, societies which remain hostile to Russia and Russophone culture and polities which restrict their membership are more important factors than economics. My mistake.
