Skip to main content

Part of the book series: Societies and Political Orders in Transition ((SOCPOT))

  • 393 Accesses

Abstract

More than a quarter century has passed since the Soviet Union disappeared from the world’s map. This powerful geopolitical upheaval has entailed many economic and political consequences, among which two directly affect the geography and volume of global international migration flows. Firstly, after the dissolution of the USSR, migration flows among the former Soviet republics was transformed from an internal phenomenon to an external one. Secondly, the collapse of the Iron Curtain gave the population of most former Soviet republics the right to freely leave their country. These changes motivate this book, in which authors from 15 countries have teamed up to summarize the movement of population over the post-Soviet territories, both within the newly independent states and to and from other countries over the past 25 years. Our focus is on the volume of migration flows, the number and sociodemographic characteristics of migrants, migration determinants and the situation of migrants in receiving countries. The authors, who include demographers, economists, geographers, anthropologists, sociologists, and political scientists, use varying methods in their contributions, which are informed by their research areas and disciplinary traditions. The diversity of our authors once again emphasizes the multifaceted nature of post-Soviet migration movements.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Azrael, J. R., & Payin, E. A. (Eds.). (1996). Cooperation and conflict in the former Soviet Union: Implication for migration. Santa Monica/Washington: RAND.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buckley, C. J., & Ruble, B. A. (Eds.). (2008). Migration, homeland, and belonging in Eurasia. Baltimore: Woodrow Wilson Centre Press with Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Tinguy, A. (2012). Velikaya migratsiya: Rossiya i Rossiyanie posle padeniya zheleznogo zanavesa [translation]. Moscow: ROSSPEN. Translated from French: de Tinguy A. (2004). La grande migration. La Russie et les Russes depuis l’ouverture du Rideau de Fer. Paris: PLON.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frejka, T. (Ed.). (1996). International migration in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. New York/Geneva: United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gitelman, Z. (Ed.). (2016). The New Jewish Diaspora: Russian-speaking immigrants in the United States, Israel, and Germany. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heleniak, T. (2002). Migration dilemmas haunt post-Soviet Russia. Migration Information Source, Migration Policy Institute, October. http://www.migrationinformation.org/

  • Heleniak, T. (2005). The end of an Empire: Migration and the changing nationality composition of the Soviet successor states. In R. Münz & R. Ohlige (Eds.), Diasporas and ethnic migrants: Germany, Israel and post-Soviet successor states in comparative perspective (pp. 115–140). London/Portland: Frank Class Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • IOM, International Organization for Migration. (2003). Migration trends in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. 2001–2002 review. Geneva: International Organization for Migration.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kopnina, H. (2005). East to west migration: Russian migrants in Western Europe. Aldershot: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mansoor, A., & Quillin, B. (Eds.). (2006). Migration and remittances: Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Washington, DC: The World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nikolko, M., & Carment, D. (Eds.). (2018). Post-Soviet migration and diasporas. From Global perspectives to everyday practices. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Okólski, M. (1998). Regional dimension of international migration in Central and Eastern Europe. Genus, LIV(1–2), 11–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Puffer, S. M., McCarthy, D. J., & Satinsky, D. M. (2018). Hammer and silicon: The Soviet diaspora in the US innovation economy-immigration, innovation, institutions, imprinting, and identity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryazantsev, S. (2007). Trudovaya migratsiya v stranakh SNG I Baltii: Tendentsii, posledstviya, regulirovaniye [Labour migration in the CIS countries and in Baltic States: Trends, consequences, regulation]. Moscow: Formula prava.

    Google Scholar 

  • Savoskul, S. (2001). Russkie novogo zarubezhiya: Vybor sud’by [Russians of the new abroad: The choice of destiny]. Moscow: Nauka.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shlapentokh, V., Sendich, M., & Payin, E. (1994). The New Russian diaspora: Russian minorities in the former Soviet Republics. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. (2002). International migration from countries with economies in transition: 1980–1999. New-York: United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vishnevsky, A. (2005). The dissolution of the Soviet Union and post-Soviet ethnic migration: The return of diasporas? In R. Münz & R. Ohlige (Eds.), Diasporas and ethnic migrants: Germany, Israel and post-Soviet successor states in comparative perspective (pp. 141–159). London/Portland: Frank Class Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Denisenko .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Denisenko, M., Light, M., Strozza, S. (2020). Introduction. In: Denisenko, M., Strozza, S., Light, M. (eds) Migration from the Newly Independent States. Societies and Political Orders in Transition. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36075-7_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics