Book
Russia in Motion: Cultures of Human Mobility since 1850
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This paper analyses the determinants of national student mobility under the unified system of admission in Russia and evaluates the barriers which still limit educational mobility. It is argued that even with the Unified State Examination (USE) and the decreased transaction costs of applying to universities, student interregional national mobility is directed towards more developed regional educational markets and richer regions, but is still limited due to the financial constraints in the absence of the additional student support. Russia is an interesting case, because it consists of regions with highly variable socio-economic development and it represents local higher education markets with different levels of competition between universities, which may influence the decision to move. USE was intended to mitigate against these differences, and for political reasons under USE such differences are not considered the main barriers of access to higher education. However, this study takes into account the importance of the institutional characteristics of regions in student mobility.
A comparison of Arctic cities in Russia with their counterparts in the southern parts of the country suggests that there are no significant differences in the degree of employment specialization or in many indicators of social amenities and services. The most important distinguishing feature of Arctic cities in Russia is the high mobility of their populations and the relative ease with which they move. The mobility of the Arctic population should be recognized as a kind of safety valve for the Arctic cities, underpinning their resilience in the face of changes in economic conditions.
Migration is an age-specific process. Various types of migration in Russia including long-term, temporary and commuter migration, each have specific age structure. This paper analyses age composition of mobile and non-mobile population of Russia using administrative data on migration, 2010 Census data and Sample Survey on Employment data for 2012-2014. The author investigates relationship between age composition of labour migration and migration destinations. The results of the analysis of the interregional migration in Russia indicate that labour migrants of older ages tend to choose destinations in the North and East of Russia, while migration to Moscow and Saint Petersburg has younger age composition. These differences can be explained by specific economic structure and labour market structure of the destination regions, as well as with existing demand for workers with specific qualifications in some regions.