Individual and Contextual Determinants of Internal Migration in Russia, 1985-2001

Theodore Gerber, University of Arizona

Using new survey data that include 7,267 residential mobility histories spanning 1985-2001, I analyze how individual and contextual factors influence internal migration in contemporary Russia. I devote particular attention to assessing whether the magnitude of both individual and contextual effects on the hazard of migration have changed during this period, which saw dramatic socio-economic and political changes stemming from the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991. These massive changes make contemporary Russia an ideal setting in which to study how economic and political upheavals affect internal migration behavior. To date, Russian migration patterns have only been analyzed using aggregate (regional-level) data. Thus, my study adds a vital individual-level perspective, that permits theories formulated to explain individual-level migration behavior to be explicitly tested.