Emigration—A Real Threat to the Country's Future

Abstract

In the last decade of the twentieth century, Russian social life has produced a fourth wave of emigration. (The three most significant preceding waves of emigration were connected with political and military events: the anti-Bolshevik wave of 1917-38; the wave of 1939-52, caused by the war, as well as territorial changes in the USSR, deportations of population from occupied territories, and the movement of prisoners of war; and the wave of dissident emigration in 1953-86.) This fourth wave differs from the preceding ones not only in scale, but also because the most diverse strata of the population have been drawn into it, independent of their levels of education, professional training, age, and nationality. This is precisely why we must regard the current wave of emigration as a real threat to Russia's future. This conclusion is supported by statistics: in a mere five years (1990-94), more than half a million Russians (514,000 people) have left the country.