Before plunging into the intricacies of foreign laws, methods of obtaining permanent residence in Europe (permanent residence) and the nuances of the foreign mentality, let’s first look at the questions that every person who one day declares “I want to leave Russia” should ask himself. Well, really: Why are Russians trying to emigrate from their own country? Are other countries really waiting for us with open arms? Is it worth leaving Russia at all?
Why people leave Russia - reasons for emigration
When such problems are discussed, two opposing points of view usually emerge: “you need to leave as quickly as possible, the country is falling apart, everything is bad here” and “the state took care of you, raised you, educated you, you have not yet repaid your debt, so live here” . By the way, I suggest you vote on this page: Is it time to leave? - which point of view is closer to you. The results of a massive and objective survey are very interesting. So what is it really like? Let's figure it out. Everything stated below is the personal opinion of the author. I do not seek to persuade anyone to my point of view and equally respect those who take the opposite position.
The West won: Why the best are fleeing Russia
A third (31%) of Russians aged 18 to 24 would like to go to live in another country. This is the highest figure over the past five years. This is evidenced by a VTsIOM poll published on July 2.
In total, 10% of respondents expressed their readiness to emigrate. 88% of respondents would not like to change their permanent place of residence and leave the Russian Federation. At the same time, the share of young people wishing to leave Russia increased by 25% over the year.
16% of these potential emigrants would like to move to Germany, 7% named the USA, 6% - Spain. A year ago, Australia was in third place in popularity - 7% wanted to move there.
The share planning to move in the next year or two fell from 17% in 2021 to 10% in 2021. However, among those wishing to emigrate, the percentage of those who are preparing for the move in earnest has become higher: learning a foreign language, collecting information about the country where they want to settle, consulting with emigrated acquaintances.
Stepan Lvov, head of the VTsIOM research department, urged not to consider this process as “an escape from the terrifying Russian reality.” “This is evidence of the growing openness of our youth towards other countries, and maybe even a challenge to the outside world: “Don’t you want to do business with us?” We will come to you ourselves - to look at people, to show ourselves,’” said Lvov.
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It will leave millions of Russians homeless. The government is preparing another unpopular reform, explaining it in the “interests” of the residents.
True, he did not specify: why, in order to “show yourself,” leave Russia forever?
Tellingly, sociologists from the Levada Center (in 2016 included by the Ministry of Justice in the register of NGOs performing the functions of a foreign agent) in a June survey on a similar topic painted a slightly different picture.
According to Levada, almost every fifth Muscovite would like to emigrate from Russia. According to the study, 7% of residents of the Russian capital definitely want to leave the Russian Federation forever, 11% answered this question “rather yes,” and another 2% found it difficult to answer.
Among residents of other regions of Russia, only 3% are ready to emigrate.
In Moscow, Levada Center analysts noted, more than half of the capital’s residents (56%) have a foreign passport, two to three Muscovites have visited abroad, and 20% have an open visa. Over the past year, every fourth Muscovite visited abroad - and only every tenth respondent in Russia as a whole.
At the same time, many Muscovites have fresh examples of departure before their eyes: more than a quarter of the capital’s residents (26%) have relatives or friends who have left for permanent residence in another country over the past two to three years. If we compare Muscovites with residents of small towns and rural areas, twice as many respondents in the capital express a desire to leave.
What sociologists from the Levada Center and VTsIOM agree on is that it is mainly young people who plan to emigrate. According to Levada - three times more often than the elderly, plus wealthy respondents - two times more often than the poor.
“To the desire to leave the country, you need to add the opportunity to do so,” notes Leonty Byzov, candidate of economic sciences, leading researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences . — Not everyone in the West is ready to be accepted on good terms. Therefore, I would narrow this survey and look at how many highly qualified people there are among these potential emigrants. Because they are the ones who are really leaving Russia, first of all.
We must understand: cheap labor is not needed in the West. But our scientists, artists, musicians - people of unique knowledge and skills - are welcomed abroad with joy. If I were VTsIOM, I would single out this group separately and look at it first of all.
I would like to note that the desire to leave is growing among this group—an extremely alarming symptom. Yes, not only do people leave Russia, many people come to us for permanent residence, for example, from the republics of Central Asia. And the trouble, I think, is not at all that Russia as a whole is losing people. The trouble is that the strength of a country today is determined not by the size of its population, but by the quality and size of its intellectual elite. And at some point our intellectual elite stopped connecting their future with Russia.
“SP”: — But sociologists point out that we are talking primarily about young people. Is the intellectual elite necessarily young?
“What I’m talking about applies to all generations. But the older generation does not leave because they are living out their lives in Russia, and because it is difficult to settle in a new place. But this doesn’t stop the youth - that’s all.
In addition, the majority of young people strive to get an education in Russia. We - still by inertia - have a lot to learn, good and free. But then educated young people definitely don’t want to work for pennies, and even in conditions where the state does not allocate money for serious scientific research.
I see this at the Institute of Sociology, where I work, and at the Academy of Sciences as a whole - the problems with young people at the Russian Academy of Sciences are huge. We can say that after the well-known reform of higher education, none of the young researchers want to connect the future with this institute.
“SP”: — Can we say that the desire to leave is dictated by the economic situation in the Russian Federation?
— I think the main reason is still political. The problem is not some kind of persecution by the authorities - such persecution concerns a very small number of people. Let me note that a similar situation was observed in the USSR - few were subjected to repression, mainly those who ran into trouble themselves. Ordinary citizens do not feel any danger from the authorities.
But the fact of the matter is that politics is not limited to manifestations of civic activity. Politics must shape the image of the future. People must understand where the country is going and what values it carries.
Constitutional right to freedom of conscience
Firstly, the ethical side. Wouldn't immigration be a betrayal of one's country? This could go on for a long time, but take note of the following couple of facts. The state is created so that its population can live well, freely and richly. But not the other way around. Not the people owing something to the state, but the state owing something to the people. And the right to change citizenship is, as it were, enshrined and approved by the Constitution. The departure of the population actually benefits those remaining. The lion's share of Russia's budget is formed from natural resources, and not from tax contributions from citizens. This means that as the population decreases, expenses for its “service” (treatment, education, and so on) decrease faster than tax revenues. As a result, there is more money left per capita in social budget items. Ideally;) We sorted it out.
Global collapse
Let's return from ethics to harsh reality. What makes many of us (according to surveys, a third of the population would be glad to leave somewhere) outright scream out loud “it’s time to leave!”? Yes, at least a few painful moments (in fact, start listing them - there will be enough reasons for immediately going abroad for a week). In the Russian Federation there is a confident, progressive collapse of all social spheres: healthcare, education, social support. Yes, training is supposedly free (only every year you have to shell out a tidy sum for repairs/textbooks). Yes, pensioners are paid pensions and cities often announce their increase throughout the media. Only a former member of the regional party committee can live with dignity on his pension.
I tell you why I want to leave Russia
Some people say that Russia is the best country in the world, but if you ask them where they have been, they will answer - nowhere. Because there is nothing to compare with, people live in the same country, in the same place and do not know the life of people abroad.
I have been studying this topic for 4 years. I'm interested in how people live in other countries, including those who left Russia. A striking example of a friend from Amsterdam: he has been living in this country for 5 years and has no plans to leave, there are reasons for this, and they are similar to those that I will write about below
