Migration in post-Soviet Russia: The past glimpsed and current changes reflected

Migration can be seen as a population's reaction to a new situation. All the changes that occur in society are registered almost instantaneously, and in a tangible manner, in population movements, Thus, the case of Russia affords an unusual opportunity for analysing the latest migratory trends, occasioned by the sudden reform of the political and socio-economic system following on the collapse of the Soviet Union. In addition, a knowledge of migratory trends makes for a rapid grasp of the significant turning-points which have marked the life of the country. Thus the first period was marked by a new direction in the migratory processes, and the appearance in 1990-92 of massive waves of refugees, reflecting the upheaval which the disintegration of the Union caused in the population. Subsequently, the resumption of ''normal'' migratory trends, and the return to evolutionary trends show that Russia is well on the way to a market economy, compared with most of the former republics. The further one distances oneself from the date of the collapse of the USSR, the more apparent the gulf among the new states which took shape on its territory, in respect of their political systems, the pace of economic reform, the drop in production and in populations' living standards, and in social stability. We are witnessing a re-definition of socio-economic alignments within the former USSR.