A solid majority of Russians - 89%, which is the highest on record - have no wish to leave their native country and move abroad, the All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center said in a statement.
According to the survey’s results, around 10% of Russians consider the thought of moving to another country, however, the number has decreased by 3% compared to 2016,
"In 2015, 13% of respondents said they wanted to move to a foreign country, while in 2017, the number came to ten percent," the statement reads. Only one percent of those polled found it difficult to answer the question.
The poll also said that in the past year, Russians’ reasons for moving abroad had changed. Today, people dream less of high living standards, though such aspects as social stability, good environmental conditions, a high level of culture and respect for human rights are valued more than before, TASS reported.
Besides, more Russians say they want to move abroad because they are unhappy with the government’s policies or are in love with another country. As before, Russians find Germany to be the most attractive country to reside in (13% of the respondents). Next are the US (10%), Australia (7%), Italy (5%) and the UK (4%).
The deputy dean of the Faculty of Global Economics and International Affairs of the Higher School of Economics of the National Research University, Andrei Suzdaltsev, speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that that the unwillingness of Russians to leave for permanent residence abroad primarily means that, despite the fact that the standard of living in Russia has declined, it has not reached a critical level. "Citizens of Russia feel very strong pressure on Russia from the West, and therefore, of course, they are afraid that they will be treated with prejudice there. And also there is a feeling that for the last 20 years Russians have traveled a lot, and had some disappointment in their foreign life," the expert said.
As for the fact that 41% of those wishing to leave for permanent residence abroad are people aged 18 to 34, it is common, the deputy dean of the Faculty of Global Economics and International Affairs of the Higher School of Economics of the National Research University believes. "My children are also very keen to live abroad. It is a change of impressions, there is a feeling that there is a block at home, and there will be some great opportunities abroad. But then it mostly goes away," Andrei Suzdaltsev concluded.
The director of the Institute of Political Studies Sergei Markov, in turn, explained the reluctance of Russians to leave for permanent residence abroad by a number of factors. "The first important factor is the quality of life in Russia, which is good enough. We see growing problems in the West, so where to migrate to? This is the first reason. The second one is the growth of patriotism in the country, which is the result of this aggressive attack. The third reason is the failure of the 'Let's get out of here!' propaganda campaign. This propaganda campaign was conducted since 2011. Now they have another campaign - 'Young people do not see the future in the country'," the political scientist said.
When asked who conducts such a campaign, the expert replied: a radical pro-Western opposition. "There is a fourth reason - there are quite a few examples of negative attitudes towards Russians, in particular in Europe," Sergei Markov noted.
Answering the question of how to explain the fact that almost half of those who want to live outside the country are young people, the director of the Institute of Political Studies explained: those who do not have social roots are going to leave. "A man who married, gave birth to a child and bought a house - where will he go? But a person who does not have such solid, social roots can leave. I think that if we look at the older generation, then probably, we see that those who are dissatisfied for some reason - divorced, for example, want to leave: many of divorced people want to leave," Sergey Markov concluded.
