REPRODUCTIVE AND MIGRATION ATTITUDES OF CONTEMPORARY YOUTH OF THE EAEU STATES (RUSSIA, KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGYZSTAN: A CASE STUDY)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the current aspects of demographic development in the EAEU member states in the context of studying the specifics of the reproductive and migratory behavior of young people in Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The modern generation of young people in post-Soviet countries over the past three decades has been influenced by various factors that have radically transformed their views on family, childbirth and migration. Their attitudes towards reproductive and migratory behavior will dominate the future demographic trends not only in each of the studied countries, but also in the Eurasian space as a whole. Therefore, a detailed study of the attitudes of the young and educated generation is the most important task of demographic and sociological sciences. Based on the results of a sociological survey conducted using a unified methodology, the article examines the features of reproductive and migratory behavior in countries at different stages of the “demographic transition.” It reveals the peculiarities of the respondents’ attitude from the three states to official marriage, age preferences for starting a family and giving birth to their first child. Reproductive judgments regarding anticipated and ideal number of children are identified. The use of the ranking method allowed to detect ​​the normative childbearing models in the three countries and the differences between them. The conclusion states that in all the states in question, the prevailing socio-economic conditions are an obstacle to the implementation of the existing ideal reproductive attitudes. The gender peculiarities of the views of young people in the three countries on extramarital unions, reproductive patterns and “planned childlessness” were noted. The article demonstrates that, with regard to the results of the study, in the next 25 to 30 years families in Russia will likely have a small number of children, in Kazakhstan—an average number, and reproductive behavior in Kyrgyzstan will likely retain its tendency towards having many children. The article also contains conclusions about specific migration attitudes based on the replies to questions about the preferred place to apply professional skills, create a family and have children. The dependence of migration attitudes on gender and country of residence has been revealed. Based on empirical data, the groups of respondents characterized by pragmatic, patriotic and antipatriotic migratory behavior have been identified. It was determined that young people who live in Kyrgyzstan are more focused on moving to a new place of residence, while all respondents are quite cosmopolitan in regard to the place of application of their professional skills, and students are most patriotic about the place to start a family.