Twelve percent of Russians want to leave Russia but only 4 percent consider it doable – poll

(Interfax – August 4, 2014) Twenty per cent of Russians think that the number of people leaving forever will grow in the coming years, 24 percent are certain it will decrease, and 56 percent failed to respond, the survey showed.

When asked why fellow citizens leave Russia, 9 percent said “in search of better life and better financial position”, 2 percent each said because “nothing good happens and no prospects exist,” people are looking for decent job, social guaranteed and possibility of self-fulfillment, and 1 percent said people “go to where order and supremacy of law are” and “because of sanctions and fearing war.”

However, when asked “are you personally ready to go abroad forever?,” 84 percent of respondents said no, 12 percent said yes (24 percent among young people and 29 percent among young people with higher education), while only 4 percent think that such plans will be fulfilled, sociologists said.

According to the information of the FOM, in 2012 a total of 17 percent of Russians wanted to leave the country and 33 percent among young people supported this stance.

In the past two years the number of people among respondent friends and family, who went to live abroad permanently, decreased from 35 percent to 33 percent.

The attitude of Russian citizens towards fellow citizens, who moved permanently abroad, is loyal, but most Russians do not plan to emigrate themselves, the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) said.

A total of 74 percent of Russians do not condemn people who leave to reside abroad permanently and 19 percent do condemn, most often elderly people (37 percent) and less often young individuals (10 percent), sociologists said.

The poll was held on July 26-27 among 1,500 respondents in 100 urban and rural settlements in 43 Russian regions.