MOSCOW, 19 August 2025. The VCIOM Analytical Centre presents the results of a monitoring study on Russian emigration moods.

Never before has the Russian proverb stating "Be of use and carry your business on in the country where you were born" been so true as it is in recent years. Based on the recent findings of a monitoring study conducted by the VCIOM Analytical Center, since 2022 the number of Russians thinking that one should live where they were born and received education (although it is not an either/or thing) has been dominant. On the one hand, viewing migration through the prism of patriotism reflects the preparedness to abandon personal desires in favor of home country. On the other hand, it is indicative of the transformation of self-perceptions in the home country: apparently, a traditional perception of the home country as a place of birth and upbringing is accompanied by a new dimension – personal comfort. Thus, a desire to live where you were born and received education. This desire is shared by a majority of Russians; for the second consecutive year the emigration mood has been at its historical low. Generally, over the entire measurement period (since 1991) Russians have shown a stable strong attachment to their country. Even times of instability (political, social and economic) failed to reverse this trend. In 1991, when emigration was perceived as an opportunity to escape chaos and to start from scratch, the share of those willing to use this opportunity did not reach even 20%.  This was also true for the 2019-2020 period that was remembered for closing borders, travel restrictions, higher social tensions and job market turbulence. However, according to public opinion, the emigration’s peak fell on the post-covid period, or the second half of 2022. For the time being, assessments of the emigration scale point out stabilization of the situation: the share of those who noticed the outflow of people from the country has also hit its low over the entire measurement period (from 2013).

The answers of potential emigrants (today its percentage hardly exceeds the doubled margin of error) concerning their planned date to move make plain: to promise does not mean to move. However, if earlier it was explained by the lack of a clear plan and a conscious intention to move, today there are other reasons that stop the Russians from moving abroad. In other words, emigration plans have become less determined and/or realistic and are more subject to external factors.

All-Russian VCIOM-Sputnik telephone survey was conducted July 19, 2025. A total of 1,600 respondents aged 18 and older took part in the survey. Survey method: telephone interview, stratified random sample based on a complete list of mobile phone numbers in use in Russia. The data are weighted for socio-demographic characteristics. The margin of error at a 95% confidence level does not exceed 2.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes to the wording of questions and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey.

Key effectiveness indicators, survey of 19 July, 2025: cooperation rate (CR)* = 0.7659; minimum response rate (MRR)** = 0.0152; response rate (RR)*** = 0.0835. Calculations are based on corporate standard:

* CR: the number of complete interviews divided by the sum of: а) complete interviews and b) non-interviews with eligible respondents.

** MRR: the number of complete interviews divided by the sum of: а) complete interviews, b) interrupted interviews after successful screening and c) all the respondents where it is unknown whether they meet the selected criteria or not.

** RR is calculated in the same way as MRR, with the only difference that the number of respondents with unknown eligibility decreases proportional to the percentage of eligible cases in the total number of respondents with identified eligibility or non-eligibility.

* In 2021 there were the following answer options: “It’s wrong to leave the country where you were born and received education” and “You need to live in the country where you feel good”

** For 2022, mean values were taken for March and September; for 2023, mean values for January and September; for 2024, mean values for March and June.

**Before 2021 the wording of the question was as follows: “Has the number of people leaving Russia permanently for other countries increased/ decreased or stayed the same over the recent decades?”

*** Before 2017, surveys were conducted through household face-to-face interviews (Express project); stratified multi-stage sample, with quotas based on socio-demographic parameters; representative of the Russian population aged 18+, according to type of settlement, gender, age, education and federal district. Sample size: 1,600 respondents.

Author: Lyudmila Bogomazova