Migration Patterns During a Period of Political and Economic Shocks in the Former Soviet Union: A Case Study of Yaroslavl' Oblast*

Abstract

This paper examines migration in Russia during the period that preceded the breakup of the former Soviet Union (FSU) and during the current transition period. An unusually rich dataset is used to conceptualize the impact that the political and economic collapse of a world superpower has on a migration system. A regional case study of migration in Yaroslavl' Oblast h-om 1989 through 1992 is used to examine the relevance of expected outcomes given standard theories of migration, empirical regularities found in capitalist economies, and past trends in the FSU. The data clearly show a migration system undergoing political and economic shocks. A significant decline of the volume of flows and a relative increase in the importance of interrepublic movement indicate disruptions. Increased relative mobility for those in thc later years of the working-age population and increased importance of urban-to-rural migration flows are also important changes evident in this migration system undergoing shock.

The Elite, the Natives, and the Outsiders: Migration and Labor Market Segmentation in Urban China

“…Accordingly, migration was subject to official approval and became another area of the society to be organized and planned-just like the effect of five-year plans on industrial production. Most importantly, residence registration was interwoven with government guarantees and distribution of social services, such as state-subsidized housing, education, and health care (Mitchneck and Plane 1995a). Though the registration system was not successful in controlling rural-urban migration, it served an important function in controlling access to social benefits and programs (Buckley 1995).…”

“…Despite transition, residence permits are still in use in Russia, symbolizing the state's guarantee of access to official systems of distribution. The notion of a social contract between the state and individuals continues to affect migrants' calculus, so that individuals' decisions and migration processes are influenced not only by human capital and economic considerations but also by access to services and resources tied to the registration system (Mitchneck andPlane 1995a, 1995b).…”

Increasing Unevenness in the Distribution of City Sizes in Post-Soviet Russia

“…2 In 1999, 19 cities were reclassified as rural because of out-migration from urban areas and, therefore, not included. Table 1 also shows that the rate of urbanization has dramatically declined since the USSR's dissolution, due primarily to negative natural increase (Field, 2000), but also to the reversing trend of urban-to-rural migration (Mitchneck and Plane, 1995b). Several issues arise when comparing data collected during the Soviet period and since the transition.…”

Regional Economic Performance and Net Migration Rates in Russia, 1993–2002

“…Furthermore, many studies of migration in post‐Soviet Russia downplay the effects of the traditional labor market factors (Bond, 1994; Mitchneck and Plane, 1995a, 1995b; Brown, 1997; Heleniak, 1997, 1999; Korel and Korel, 1999; Zayonchkovskaya, 1999). They focus on three main developments: 1) out‐migration from northern and eastern regions due mainly to return migration, quality of life conditions, and population composition; 2) immigration of ethnic Russians from other former Soviet republics, mainly due to ethnic conflict; and 3) a lower association between regional labor market conditions and interregional flows during the initial years of the transition.…”

“…As for studies of the early post‐Soviet years, Brown (1997) finds no effects of regional unemployment rates and confusing effects of nominal regional wages (they increased both gross inflows and gross outflows) in her analysis of 1993 regional data. Mitchneck and Plane (1995a) test seven hypotheses about late‐Soviet and post‐Soviet migration patterns, none of which explicitly involve the effects of wage or unemployment differentials. In a companion study, they find that employment change and “labor market stress” have no association with regional migration rates in 1993.…”